Hi Jane, Thank you for your reply! IÂm hoping that my post will be useful information to others wondering if a no-leaf-phal can leaf to bloom again;) Regards, PoseyPlanter

Congratulations and best wishes to you in your new home! I would pot them up, not in soil but in a potting mix (or a mixture of potting mix and compost, but you probably don't have the latter ... yet) and then overwinter them in a place where they will go dormant, yet be protected from extremes. I don't know if your cellar would be cold enough. (It wouldn't be here in my zone 7 region.) You can dig a trench in the ground, place the pots in the trench and then backfill. I've had great success with this method. Or you can leave the pots on the ground and surround them with straw bales and mulch. Basically you want them to experience winter, but not be subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Those pots, if left above-ground and not insulated in some way, will warm up a lot in the winter sun, yet be exposed to harsher cold when temperatures drop. Sinking them in the ground in one of the gardens would be easiest and probably safest, but this is the best time of year to amend that soil so it will be ready in spring. Have you done a soil test yet? A comprehensive soil test is best, but at least check the pH. Contact your local County Agricultural Extension/Master Gardeners for further info. One other caveat: You mention the soil in the new perennial bed is "very dense, with small stones, gravel." Is it clay? If so, it may tend to hold too much water, especially for most of the plants you have listed. You can do a percolation test and if it doesn't drain well you will need to address that before attempting to plant a garden there. I wouldn't recommend overwintering the plants in such an area, either. Good job nurturing those perennials for five years outside a city apartment! They must have brightened the spot considerably ... I'll bet your former neighbors were sorry to see them go.

thanks for the suggestion calistoga, my place is in zone 5. right now the temperature outside is 30f, snowing. it is going to be much colder for the next 3 monthes and we sometimes have snow in May. it is a new bare root plant. i put it in a pot and hided it in my garage for 3 weeks already. last year i planted 2 bare root tree peony early november, leaving them in the coldness. they all died in the following spring after a few weeks of struggling. the new leaves start showing but the growth slowed, then stopped and died eventually. tears!

I thought someone would give you an answer before now, but here goes. Up until last year, I always left the largest trees in their pots, pulled them up under the eaves of the house or into the garage. They loose all their leaves, receive no water and they do fine. Last year for the first time, we placed 6 of the very large trees straight into the ground (no pot) and dug them up for storage in November. We left most of the dirt around the root ball and sat them on cardboard or plastic in the garage. Same thing, no water, very little light and come spring they all began to grow again. I believe your large trees will do fine sitting in cardboard boxes, it keeps the roots off of the cold ground/garage floor. Hope this helps. Karen in Houston!