woods affecting growth?

i have a couple plants growing outside rite now and they are always rotated to be in direct sunlight and are growing to be very big and strong however im about to transplant them to a safe spot in some very dense woods but i have 2 questions one is if i should leave them in pots and 2 is will they get enough light to grow strong and healthy? it is very shaded but one spot is by a river bed and the other is just in the middle of the woods. im just scared to move them to the spot and then have them torn up by natural wildlife which has already happened 3 times from weak plants, i just cant keep em at the house anymore. thanx

put them in a spot they will get sunlight for as many hours as they can in a day, the more sunlight the better , put some chicken wire wround them