Thalocean2 wrote:

I know this subject has been done to death but I couldn't find answers to my
questions in searches.

Has anyone in zone 5ish been successful at keeping dwarf fruit in containers
that hold less than 50 gallons? Have the containers wintered well outside?
Did moving the trees hurt them?

I'm living in a temporary situation for the next 2 years and have lots of porch
space. I thought now would be a good time to get some fruit trees started to
be moved to my permanant home later but the containers need to be small enough
for me to be able to move with a dolly.

First of all, dwarf fruit trees should be okay even in a 20 gallon
container. I have a dwarf lemon in a tub that is 18 inches in
diameter and 18 inches deep. I have had it for about 35 years. I
also have a dwarf kumquat in a similar tub for over 20 years; I
had it in a large flower pot before then, a total of over 30 years
between the tub and pot. And I have had a dwarf orange in a
similar tub for about 13 years.

Your climate could be a problem, even for a hardy deciduous fruit
tree. You can buy or make (as another response indicated) a
wheeled platform for your containers. When I lived in an area
with slightly colder winters, I had the lemon tub on such a
platform and rolled it into my garage at night and out again in
the morning. The kumquat is hardier, so I left it alone. I did
not have the orange at that time. With a deciduous tree, you
could keep it sheltered day and night in the winter as long as the
soil is not allowed to become completely dry. However, many
deciduous fruit trees do need some winter chill; so (unless the
shelter is not heated) you might want to roll it outside when the
temperatures are not too far below freezing. Once buds start to
swell, you must be much more careful about protecting the trees
from freezing.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 19 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/