My attempt to get potted trees through the winter

Due to a series of unfortunate health events, I didn't get even close to everything done this summer and fall. One of the neglected things was fruit and nut tree planting. I had a whole bunch of apple and chestnut and a few other things like plum and seaberry. So far, I've usually just set any unplanted pots into an annual bed and built up a wall of haybales around them, letting snow fill in to insulate them. Last year, however, we basically didn't get any snow and a lot of stuff died. This year I'm trying something new (and maybe rash) due to running so short on time. I put them all together, dropped a 'tree ring' around them and forked hay right over the top, burying them.

What do you all do to keep potted woody perennials alive through the bitter cold winter?

I guess I'll let you know in May how this worked out!

I hope this works for you!

Like you, I also did not manage to plant fruit trees that I purchased at the beginning of this year -- February, to be exact.  When autumn came along and it started getting quite nippy, my plan to winter them over was that I would "tuck them in" by placing them all close together and then putting blankets around each individual pot, then around the whole group (there are about 25 of them), then to put them under an overhand to protect them a bit and also put a tarp around 3 sides. But when the very cold winds started whipping along, that idea made me rather uneasy. So I brought them all into the basement, where they all currently sit. I don't know if they will make it, but I intend to water them periodically and otherwise hope for the best. I have one fig tree in a pot that I've been waiting to plant for 3 years already, just waiting to finally get to a property where I would be at for quite a while. That tree made it very well each year. However, I always waited for it to lose all its leaves before putting it in the basement. I  was not able to do that with all the other fruit trees I have now; a lot of them still had their leaves when I brought them down. So, as I said, I really don't know if they will make it. But that is all I was able to do for them, along with continuously sending them love and appreciation, of course. We'll see how they show themselves come spring and I put them back outside. I'll be very curious to hear how yours fares.

Thats the right thing to do. It's called healing them in. As long as you protect those roots from cold dry winter air they'll be fine. They are dormant in the winter anyway. Most people just dig a temporary hole and stuff them all in together and throw some soil over the roots. You can plant them when the weather warms up.  They'll die for sure if you don't do what you did. Good job.

My septic tank gives off enough heat in the winter to melt much of the snow. A neighbor places his potted roses on the top of his tank during the winter.  I started doing the same thing if I have trees that have not landed in their permanent location. A few hay bales around the footprint of the tank trees inside the bales and straw over them.