Question
I live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.  Recently I purchased 2 dwarf Alberta Spruce which I would like to place on either side of the front door in containers (the information card says "Excellent as a tub plant or miniature Christmas tree.")  However, the nursery does not extend the one-year guarantee to container planting, which causes me to second-guess myself.  Do you think I am taking a reasonable risk by planting these trees in large containers?  If so, any advice you can give on how to do so is also appreciated.

Answer
Water is the biggest problem for these trees in containers. Either too much water, or too little water, or as the case may be, frozen water in Minnesota.
They are very commonly used as front entrance container plants, just as you suggest. And they do very well at it.
But, you will need to be very diligent with monitoring the soil moisture. I am not suggesting watering twice a week, on a time schedule. I am suggesting check the soil to see if it does, indeed, need water. When you master that, you should have very few problems with your trees. They require very little care, aside from an occasional trimming to shape, and in winter some protection to keep the moisture from freezing and thawing in the container. This can be done by wrapping the container, or moving it into the garage for protection from the cold. The top of the tree can take very cold temperatures, but the roots are above ground, and in order for them to do what they do to keep the tree alive, they can't be frozen in a container of ice. So it is important to keep the roots from freezing.