If overwintered, the celery would want to go to seed next spring ... are you talking about globe artichokes? ... I have never grown these ... Terry

@John, I would need a machine gun on motion sensor where I live. I do have a fenced garden, but I did not think they would eat the artichokes (and they didn't all summer, but now they are getting to the crazed winter behavior.) Hopefully they will grow back in the Spring if they survive the winter.... I am not sure about the one that was eaten though, it completely died back then regrew, so the roots are probably exhausted. I was considering covering some lettuce in a hoop house for the winter, but I am starting to think the deer will jump my 6 foot fence, and tear it apart, in the middle of the winter they are really desperate.

I'm in SE PA (6b/7a) and wintersow tomatoes every year. You will get tomatoes at when you normally get them, the only difference being that the plants you transplant will be much smaller than what you see in the local nurseries. This is normal -- in a month they'll all be the same size. I wintersowed my tomatoes on March 6 and because of the abnormally warm weather we've been having I already have a few sprouts. I usually don't see them till April. Wait till they have two sets of true leaves to transplant and everything should be fine.

It's often listed as hardy to as cold as USDA z4a, but z5a is probably more realistic, so in order to be safe, you should plan ion giving it some protection other than the covered porch with a western exposure. Reason: The porch will get too warm during any warm spells after mid-January when the plant will have moved from its truly dormant state to a state of quiescence (quiet rest). While in this state, the plant is filly capable of growth, but under normal conditions chill would keep it from growing. Warm temps will cause onset of growth too early. Onset of growth eliminates the protection against cold the plant enjoys during dormancy and quiescence and the next cold spell could kill the plant w/o protection against any lows below freezing (32F/ 0C). Roots of most temperate plants are at least somewhat protected against root temperatures below the freezing point. Killing low root temperatures vary from species to species and several other factors related to cultural effects and root cell contents. There are 3 types of water that should be mentioned when discussing cold injury to roots. As long as actual root temperatures do not fall below the killing low temp, water in the soil can freeze solid with little or no ill effects on the roots or plant, other than the windburn that can occur in evergreens when the soil solution is unavailable for uptake because it's locked up as ice. Unbound/ intercellular water (water in between plant cells) can also freeze without damage to the plant unless, during freeze/ thaw cycles, the plant has undergone extended periods of warm temperatures and the resultant loss of protection against cold injury that comes with such exposure. That leaves us with bound/ intracellular water (water inside of cells). As the plant enters dormancy, the amount of water held within each cell is reduced. This increases the the level of dissolved solids/ salts in intracellular water, which lowers the freezing point of said water by the same mechanism that salt applied to icy roads or sidewalks lowers the freezing point of water. It is when this intracellular water freezes that cells, groups of cells (tissue) or the entire organism can lose viability to killing low temperatures. As far as freeze/ thaw cycles are concerned - if the warm temps last only a day or two, no damage is likely to occur, even if there are dozens of instances where the soil solution and intercellular/ unbound water freezes and thaws; however, if temps above about 43-45* last for several days, any freeze/ that cycle subsequent to the onset of growth will almost certainly cause injury or even death of parts or all of the organism. Can you put the plant on the ground against the north wall of a heated building and mulch it with leaves or straw for the winter. You want to keep it out of the sun or where the sun can affect temperatures directly (like the porch you mentioned). You could also bury the pot in any bed or garden (preferably in shade), or over-winter in an unheated garage. Some people over-winter some plants in window wells, but your plant might not get enough chill there to release it from its dormant state. It will be necessary to water the plant every couple of weeks. A shovel full of snow piled on top of the plant works great. I 'water' many of my dormant trees in smaller pots by placing snowballs on top of the soil. Insulating the inside of the pot will not do any good unless you have a plan to capture heat from an extraneous source - wall of a heated building, geothermal heat rising through the soil in your beds/garden or the garage floor, ... Click me for another Chamaecyparis discussion Ins/ outs of insulating containers Al