its a conifer.. and a tree ... i am surprised you post this in the container forum ???? did i miss where you explained.. why you cant just plant it properly in mother earth??? .. and let her hold it over.. even should you wish to repot come spring???? it definitely needs a bigger pot ... especially if you think about a trees root mass.. having the potential to be twice as big as the plant above .. pull it out of the pot.. and find out.. how root bound it is.. then shove it back in the pot ... as far as trees grow.. fall is root growing time... they are storing the energy they produced this summer... that is why it would be a good time to plant.. repot.. or do root surgery ... perfect time is 6 to 8 weeks prior to ground freeze ... gritty mix is fine.. if you have it laying around... cactus mix is good .. or just cut peat-type media with 50% mini bark chunks... but do go up to a 5 gallon pot ... the thing is... a large pot.. will take winter a lot easier than a small one.. not getting too hot in winter. and thawing the roots.. etc .... interfering with dormancy .... the biggest problem with the garage.. is that it is probably.. easily.. 2 or 3 zones warmer ... and winter is usually a drought in such ... watering and dormancy maintenance is very tricky ... you would be better off.. putting the pot on the north side of the house in full winter shade... and letting it cope out there... as compared to trying to out wit mother nature in a garage ... and if it got buried under snow ... that would be even better ... it will stay dormant ... this is not really a foo foo plant that you need to baby.. get it dormant.. and keep it dormant.. you you should win ... you are thinking this z4 conifer.. is so foo foo.. it needs protection in your z6 ... that is counter-intuitive .... dont complicate you life .... ken

For people who grow roses in a climate like mine, a medium zone 5 in the middle of Michigan, I could distill everything I think I know about spring pruning to three points: 1) Don't prune too early or you'll just have to prune again; don't prune too late or the plant will just waste it's energy trying to make new growth on damaged wood. Tax time (April 15th) plus or minus a few weeks works for me. 2) Ignore spring pruning advice given in books by people who don't live in your zone. For example, the standard advice to not prune Hybrid Teas until the end of their second year is just silly if you live in zone 5. 3) The one most important rule: Prune back each cane until you see a completely white or green cut surface across the cane, with no brown in the center (this is one case where the standard advice in rose books is correct). If your rose ends up with any canes longer than 6 inches, either you didn't follow this advice, or the winter was unusually mild, or you have some superior method for winter-protection, or your rose is exceptionally cold-hardy, or you don't live in zone 5.

It's ashamed you can't leave long enough at its present site to try layering it as well, by pulling a stem down and pegging it so that it would strike before you severed it. I'd be starting softwood or herbaceous cuttings right now, and keep taking them in various stages of growth. I've found that sometimes WHEN I take and stick cuttings spells success or failure more than what stage the cuttings are in and suspect it has a lot to do with the auxin levels, what vary widely over different seasons..

I'm kind of going with the "feed the root system/more leaves=more roots?" idea of it ==>>> oh man do i love it.. when you quote my own thoughts.. and beat me to the punch line ... you are way ahead of the curve here ... in the pic.. i dont get the branch at 7o'clock ... looks like it is laying on the ground... i would take that one after the leaves fall off ... as you note.. the leaves will be doing their work until then ... and then.. noting the three leaders ... now.. what i cant see ... is where the 3 top branches are connected.. are they all from the same point .... that is going to be the tricky one.. in the future.. and i MIGHT!!!! .. subordinate one of those in late fall ... most of my pruning.. for height.. is done when the tree is nudey ... so as to better see structure.. and the future ... send us some more pix when such.. and we can go from there.. then ... +om would tell you ... where is he ???.. to prune in winter ... on oak ... or so he told me ... giving the plant time to take care of biz... before the bug season .... i think he told me .. for MI.. to be done by 4/1 ... but i told him.. i dont do ladder work in snow ... etc ... [long time before you need to worry about that ...] ken ps: most of my pruning.. involves.. the tree knocking off my hat while riding the lawn mower.. or walking by.. to put it all in perspective.. you gotta at least wait until yours is tall enough to hit the hat.. lol pps: if i were you .. i would surround the tree with some chicken wire ... held in with a bamboo stake ... or two... if you think you got rid of your ONLY rabbit.. well ... good luck with that ... i would leave it there for about 4 years ... a foot wide circle or so .... and take into account.. snow cover ... as the rabbits can walk on top of snow .. and your little protector wont do any good.. if it is buried a foot down ....