You have not indicated where are you located but at least in my zone 7b/8a, I have overwintered them in garage or shed before. I watered them about every 1-2 weeks or so.

Sorry I forgot to include that information. I am in zone 5a or 6b.

The containers will freeze solid if left exposed to the elements in your climate and the root systems will be damaged if not killed outright. You can heel in or bury the pots in the garden or as luis suggested, overwinter in an unheated garage or other protected location.

In my area, they would get left outside :-) But compared to you, I have very mild winters and the ground never freezes. Neither does container soil unless in very extreme and rare situations.

The 5a is the cold end of zone 5 and 6b is the warm end of zone 6. For example, Concord , NH is 5a and coastal RI is 6b, more than 100 miles farther south. Did you perhaps mean 5b-6a?

I would do as GG48 suggested and either bury the pots in the veggie garden after harvest or other free space (my preference since the soil decreases temperature swings and the plants won’t bud out early), or bury the pots in leaves or mulch, or store in an unheated garage.

If it is possible to do the needed prep work for their intended space, fall planting would be ideal. Just mulch well and keep an eye on soil moisture until they lose leaves.

I'm sorry my phone does not like this website and comments don't seem to work right for me, what I meant was 6a or 5b. It depends what map you look at. I believe current maps put me in 6a and older ones 5b. Sorry for the confusion.

No problem. I used to be in 8 and am now near the edge of 7b and 8a.

Yeah, just find an empty spot somewhere and bury them pot and all with some good mulch. Next spring it will be easy to lift them and put them in their permanent location. I have a small area where I bury things every fall and they always come through just fine. Care for them just as you would when planted- watering until the soil freezes.