Fletch

Wayne;

I would definitely not bother moving it in and out. I have a mountain ash that has wintered just fine for the last 12 yrs up here in da great white north (Calgary, Alberta - Zone 3a, winter temps can get as low -40F and have on occasion) with it's pot mulched in the same as my other local hardy trees. I'm not sure how well they would do in your climate as they probably won't get much if any winter dormancy but if others are able to grow them in your area then I guess it doesn't make that much difference.

From my experience mountain ash don't appreciate being overly wet but they also don't do well being allowed to dry out so using well drained soil and watering regularly as Joanie mentioned is best. They seem to like slightly acidic soil so be careful of watering with hard water and fertilize with miracle-gro or similar once a year (in the spring).

The one thing that I have had trouble with my Mountan Ash is that new shoots quickly turn upwards and grow quite long if left unchecked so they should be cut back to aprox 2 inches long after they have grown out to about 4 or 5 inches. They will also require fairly extensive wiring to direct growth as clip and grow just doesn't work with them.

I hope this helps. Mountain ash would not have been my choice for a first tree but if you pay attention to it during the growing season you should be able to develop a presentable tree in a relatively short time span (3 to 5 yrs).

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Regards
Fletch