using the common name.. i can not figure out if yours is zone appropriate or not ... i fear you are on the edge of loving them to death ... making life way to complicated for a tree ... if zone appropriate ... put them outside in shade.. and when the leaves fall off plant them in mother earth. and put a marker stake near them should they be in an area where someone might step on them under snow ... consider other things if they are not zone appropriate ... frost is irrelevant ... they will grow roots until ground freeze .... we always prefer planting of dormant stock ... as you have a few.. i suggest you try different things.. in case on method fails.. maybe the other method will work ... since you are winging it on some level .. even with all our suggestions .... its really hard to get everything right i have killed more things by over thinking it all .. and trying all kinds of things.. and yet just about everything i chucked out the back door or out of the barn.. and simply ignored.. lived.. whats that all about ... your biggest problem right now.. as i see it.. is the potting media ... as most peat based indoor medias hold way too much water in winter for a tree ... as maine has already alluded to ... a dormant tree in damp media equals root rots ... and it is really hard.. even for the experienced.. to maintain the very slight amount of dampness a tree would need in a pot ... most likely.. if it were me.. i would put them on the foundation on the north side of the house.. right now.. and after the soil froze i would lay them on their sides to avoid water accumulation ... and leave them right there ... and probably cover them with snow from the nearby sidewalk[my house] .. when available.. basically keeping them in a fridge until spring thaw.. and then.. as soon as the soil thawed i would plant them in mother earth.. where trees belong.. [and my only concern would be vermin gnawing on them] never forget.. your babes are TREES.. not houseplants .... think like a tree rather than a houseplant.. and you will be further ahead ken

There are still trees and shrubs sold bare root as well as balled and burlapped. I'd estimate, however, that at least 80% of the nursery stock sold in North America today is pot grown in soil-less, peat based media. The stuff in the bags at the garden center labeled "potting soil" can be just about anything - finally ground earth from feedlots, stripped topsoil with sand added, for example. It's basically useless junk. No commercial growers use it. Instead they use consistently blended and tested media such as ProMix, Sunshine Mix and a number of others. Some big growers blend their own, but test constantly to insure consistent results. Native soils, unless they are very unusual - much higher in humus content than is normal, very sandy/gravelly for example - are not automatically suitable for plants which have spent life in a porous, well aereated soil-less medium. The difference is too great. The roots will be very reluctant to leave the easy living of the peat mix and venture out into the usually low humus, high clay, poor in oxygen native soil. They won't all die but they will sulk for a long time before becoming established. I am aware of the studies that purport to show that soil amendment is unnecessary and counter productive. These need to be interpreted with care. What was the tree/shrub growing in before planting? What was the nature of the native soil? What species of tree or shrub was involved? What, if any, "hormones" or other chemicals were used? Sweeping generalities are usually inaccurate. Some species of trees and shrubs will establish easily in even the worst native soil without much trouble. Others - magnolias, Japanese maples, rhododendron and other ericacea come to mind - most definitely won't. Too small holes in water retentive clay soil can "drown" - actually, lack of oxygen is the real problem - plants for sure. Wide, shallow planting areas amended with coarse material such as bark, compost, etc. supports the microbial life many plants depend on. It remains. imho, a much better, if more labor intensive, method. If we are gardeners rather than land reclaimers, municipalities working with ever decreasing budgets, plantation foresters putting 1000's of trees a day into the ground, we ought to be able to do what's best rather than what's quickest and cheapest.

I cut back to above the first two Y's or at least 6 nodes above the initial Y to allow for dieback. I have to cut back or I would never fit them into my house. I don't even want to think about how many pots are coming inside this Fall- well over 100! 150??? I just use regular flourescent fixtures like Kristy. I have a ceiling fan in my sunroom, and might slap 1-2 plant growlamps up there. I run the lights for 18 hours, especially once I start my brug seedlings. The lights that Karyn suggested are expensive but Barry used them last winter and his seedlings and plants were just beautiful! Brenda

Hi, Nate. Where abouts are you? I see you're a zone 5-er too. I figured I'd mention I found a bunch of citrus at Lowes today. They are tiny, but they're trifoliate grafted so they'll make good container plants. Only $10. I came home with two Washington Navels. Never thought I'd find citrus in Upstate ny, especially this late in the season. Had my hopes up around May but had given up on finding any by now. So I figured if I could find them someone else could too. Oh, and sorry for stealing your thread. :p I just thought I'd ask Mike here instead of making a new thread. Hope you don't mind. Thanks for the info, Mike. Looking back I think my problems were poor soil, too big a pot and never knowing when to water. Hopefully the gritty mix, wooden dowels and perfect sized pots will help me this year.