A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 too late to plant?

My neighbor gave us a small japanese maple a couple of weeks ago. It's still in its pot. We got our first freeze the other night-is it too late to plant it now? Will it survive the winter in the pot? I love these trees and was ecstatic to have one delivered to my doorstep (literally!), free of charge. Please help! I would be SO disappointed to lose it because of my procrastination! Thank you!

This is actually a great time to plant trees...the cool weather gives them time to get their roots established without having to produce leaves. As long as the ground is not frozen you'll be OK. However, I have 2 Japanese Maples that I leave in pots year-round, but I am in zone 7, so I don't know if I would try it in your zone.
It's important to keep it watered even when it's cold, especially if you aren't getting much rain.

Thank you for the info Alan! I'm on a fine line between zones 6 & 7, so I would imagine I would have results similar to yours. I still hope to plant before the ground freezes, but now, if this rain will ever let up.........