how tall are they.. not including the pot??

any chance at a pic..

NOW would be the perfect time to root prune and plant...

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Hi Ken, I can get a photo but it's raining today - maybe tomorrow. I'll measure it, my guess would be they might be 6ft from top of the pot to top of the plant. I did take one out and tried to root prune it and add some fresh potting soil in the spring, thinking that might rejuvenate them. Didn't help at all. The one I handled looked worse.

Okay, I went out in the rain to get these soggy photos. [g]

Pretty ugly looking....

This 2nd one is the one that had a root pruning and a little more potting soil in the spring...

I just looked at that link you offered, Ken and I'm in z6 but we are getting forecasts of early cold weather with a few days below freezing here. They were suggesting that esp evergreens, won't do well if planted too late in the fall and the ground freezes before they have a chance to establish themselves. These Arborvitae are hardy to at least z3, and they stay out all winter in these pots, so I can leave them until the spring and try them then. Just trying to manage my expectations about whether they will tolerate planting out after being in a pot for 3 years.

Oh, but on the other hand, these are in a pot. They have a root system. It's not like I am digging them out and making them produce new roots at the wrong time of year. I still have a Rhododendron I just bought that is in a pot and that has to go in the ground, and I assume that's not going to be a problem.