"Ed Clarke" wrote in message
...
I have a pair of Eastern Redbud trees (3' tall) that I bought on eBay
this spring as bare-root plants. When I received them, I had neither
time nor place to plant a tree - so I stuck them into a pair of large
plastic pots. They're doing well.

I'm in southern New York, zone 6. Can I get these trees into the
ground this year, or should I try to over-winter them in pots in
the basement?

If you are really pressed, you can plant them now. They are trees that do
best on the margins of a forest and their new home should provide a similar
setting. Container grown plants can be planted anytime the ground isn't
frozen. If you have a choice, you should wait until fall when it is cooler
and there is more rain. The height of the summer will add stress on a newly
planted tree. Definitely DO NOT try to keep them in the basement. They
need to be outside. A better choice for holding them oven would be to dig a
hole and put the pot in the hole and then heavily much the tree. Next
spring you can lift the potted tree and plant it.