I have several trees out in the yard that were about twice my height last year, now cut off to a foot or two. The plan was to dig them up, and put them in a semishaded part of the yard, or maybe in a very large pot, and see how they would do. All three have sprouted all kinds of shoots around the cuts and up and down the trunks. I was thinking trim the lower ones off and let the rest develop for a year.

I would guess that the time to dig up is when the buds start to swell, just like for repotting. Is that right? Earlier? Later?

Weather report: due to the snow storm that came through night before last, schools were closed and many businesses closed. It got down to 27F, -3C, and there was a thin layer of ice on the plant benches. The sun melted that by 9:00. Friday the high is 60F/15C.

Yeah, that is what I would do. If possible, Wait till you would repot your trees.

I mentioned crazy weather. One tree is a winged elm, sitting right beside the creek, which kept running while the temperatures dropped to 22F last night. I checked this morning and the 2018 leaves just started to turn yellow. I have some elms in pots that have their 2019 leaves all out now. This is crazy.