I'm in zone 6, so I am a bit warmer than you, but I bring my pots into my unheated garage. At one time I used to bring about 250 pots in, from large pots that needed two people to carry, to little 2-in pots. I would do this after they went dormant, water them well, and then about mid-February give them a little drink or throw some snow on them in the garage. Then I would bring them out in spring. I hardly ever lost more than one or two plants each year. The last few years I've actually just left the pots outside, being the procrastinator that I am. But they are mostly hardy perennials and all survived.

I don't have experience with your specific plants, but I would say that in general you should not bring them inside.

Dig a small trench in a current bed and set the pots there. Pile leaves there for the winter and bring them out in spring when temperatures are above freezing.

Martha

Thanks all for your suggestions! I also had input from my next door neighbor, a master gardener, who said to just plant them in the ground. So here's what I decided to do:

I planted the winter savory in a sunny spot near a stepping stone.

I planted out an oak and a witch hazel in desirable spots. Wood chip mulch over newspaper around the oak. A picket of windfall birch branches around the WH.

One oak and one WH are going in an open styrofoam box in the garage. I think I can put them by one of the dinky windows, but imagine it won't make much difference.

The rest of the plants were heeled-in, in their pots, in a nursery bed. They'll get shredded leaf mulch.

So we'll see. So far Autumn has been mild- not so much as a light frost yet. It's good to have a plan and not be trying to do everything at the last minute.

-Judy

This is what happened:

The oak and witch hazel I planted in the ground are alive and whole.

So are the ones in pots that over-wintered in the garage.

The pots that were heeled-in to a nursery bed are still there, but the plants are gone. Each pot looks like a small scoop of soil was removed from the center. I suspect squirrels. I have a lot of critter pressure in my small urban lot.

The winter savory is hanging in there, but I think the mailman has stomped them a few times. Large critter indeed ;)

Sounds like squirrels to me, also. Only one Rocky Mountain columbine left in my jug. All the other jugs look okay. I've had that happen before so should have put a chicken wire box over them last fall. Pulled the containers out of the soil and have them surrounded by this years ws jugs. That should keep squirrels out until I can plant or pot up.