Excellent. Thanks OldDutch! I had made the assumption that it was too late for chilling to do any good (so why bother); glad to hear that even a little may help. :) Regarding the soil... yeah, we live in the midst of an area of farmland (literally, we're rural) known locally as the sure crop district. Even in bad years, most farmers here will get a descent crop (barring total destruction via hail, etc.). That said, you really have to handle it like clay or you're screwed, we've found. It's strange stuff. Extremely alkaline. Eats compost for breakfast, like you never put it on (unless you do so in HUGE quantities at first). It's taking a long time to improve the tilth, but it's coming along... slowly but surly. :) Thanks again!

Until the last 5 years peonies were shipped in October by most growers. As long as you can dig a hole you can plant in the ground. Some people in colder areas before you could start requesting a shipping time from some growers would pile stuff hay, boards, plywood, cardboard etc. over the ground where the roots were to go. This would prevent that area from freezing solid. They would then plant the roots when received. Most either did not mulch or at least did not mention if they did. They allowed Mother Nature to provide the mulch in the form of snow.

I've been wanting to try some more cold hardy cacti outside all year, too. I've had the same doubts about the claimed cold hardiness I've seen on the Internet. Some of the cold hardiness ratings I see listed by some nurseries seem a bit exaggerated to me. However, I'd rather not point fingers at any specific nurseries because I have no hard evidence to the contrary. Plus cold hardiness is not the only thing needed for a cactus to survive the winter. As I mentioned, they do better in the extreme cold if they are dry. Perhaps those cold hardiness ratings I have doubts about are possible if the plant is completely dry. I'm in the Snake River Valley, Idaho. I'm not sure how the precipitation here compares to that of New England. I don't cover my cactus bed. It does get wet and frozen during the winter. So far I've had good luck with certain kinds of Pediocactus simpsonii and Escobaria missouriensis. I have a couple small Escobaria sneedii or leei (the label says leei but the growth habit suggests sneedii) that over wintered OK last winter, too. Also, there are some wild kinds of Opuntia that grow in the valley and mountains.

a few years ago I successfully grew Chicago hardy figs in Zone 5. it was my first experience with figs, and they tasted amazing! There are better tasting figs out there and there are a few different flavor profiles you can get with Figs. If in the ground is necessary, get the Chicago hardy, know it will die to the ground each year, and it may not show new growth until May/June from the roots. If you can keep it on the south side of your house, you will likely have even better success. If you are willing to look after pots and move them into the garage or an unheated shed for winter, you could grow a whole slew of different figs.