Hi Mike, thanks for your response. I am in Boston, zone 6B, so not too different a climate from yours. I usually bring my potted trees into the basement, and have a few in the ground. Been experimenting the past few years trying to figure out the best way to protect the in ground trees. Some of my older Italian neighbors think I might cover too much (leaves, straw, blankets, and tarps), and the trees suffocate, causing some die back. They allege that it is not the cold, but the wind and water that kills the trees and that they actually need some cold air to breathe. The yield is so much superior when they are in the ground -- if you can get the over-wintering method right up here with all our snow and ice!