first..no question is dumb..we were all new once. yes..cut the bud off..and strip all of the leaves on the lower portion of the cane leaving only 2 at the top.there is no difference between glass and plastic, it's just there to keep the humidity in, and both work fine.if you've put it in direct sun you will need to shade it..otherwise..you have nothing to lose by trying..good luck, donna

Plant a clematis at its feet.

Jenangelcat, First I would like to welcome a fellow Canadian. I am from Nova Scotia and have been a winter sower for 6 years and will definitely be doing it for a seventh year. A lot of reasons for winter sowing have already been stated. I do let some plants self-sow in the gardens, but sometimes they don't come up in the best places, so transplant them where I want them. But if I am buying a pack of seeds or obtaining seeds from a fellow gardener whether it be a neighbour or through the exchange forums here, I look at it as an investment in my gardens and I will use this wonderful method to give my seeds a great chance at survival. Your question is most certainly a good one - they all are. :O) I urge you to try winter sowing, even just a few containers, and see if you like it and what the results are. If you wish, I can send you matching packets of the same kinds of seeds later in the season. Take one and sow over the snow and then take the matching one and sow a la winter sowing. Consider it my investment in your garden.

Daylilies will hold a gentel slope quite well as they have those nice root systems. Although I don't think I would pick a daylily only as a folliage plant, the nice green fans look quite nice all year long and during bloom season your slope will explode in color and look absolutely smashing. You want lots of healthy folliage in OH, You might want to stick with dormant daylilies although there are many evergreens that do grow like gangbusters. Another thing, forget the rebloom. I see you have many listed that rebloom down south but they will not up in your zone. There are other plants that would work well in your slope and many could be mixed with the daylilies. Siberian Iris is the first thing I thought of but I don't know if you can get them at local nurseries or just have to go mail order. They have very nice green leaves (maybe like a large version of liriope) and beautiful blooms. They also spread which would be good to fill in your space. Heres a link to some pictures of Siberian Iris. Here is a link that might be useful: Siberian Iris PIctures