I am also in NC and still planting perennials. The most important thing is to cut the plant back a bit so that it doesn't try to flower -- and keep the plant WATERED. IMHO it is the lack of watering, not frost that will prohibit the root development in our zone 7. This is the perfect time of year to direct sow seeds here in our zone, too. I will be planting my asclepias, gaillardia, eryngium, echinacea and centranthus ruber seeds at the end of October. It is still too warm and I don't want the seeds to germinate yet. Perennial seeds that need cold stratification (put in the refrigerator) do well with direct sowing in the fall here. I will also sow my annual seeds for spring blooms- larkspur, poppies, nigella, etc. at the same time that I plant my allium bulbs. As for shrubs and trees, we plant those anytime that the ground is workable. I actually prefer to plant shrubs and trees in November and late February. Cameron

USDA hardiness zones have nothing to do with climate as a whole! They are based only on average winter low temperatures - first and last frost dates, annual rainfall, summer heat and humidity play NO role in these zone designations. That's why you will see similar zones in locations as diverse as Georgia, Texas, Northern California or the Pacific Northwest -- they only share a somewhat similar winter temperature range. The Sunset zones are only helpful if you are using the Sunset books - very few growers or wholesale suppliers of plants utilize these zone designations and seldom ever publish them or tag their plants with them if they do. And FWIW, the Sunset books tend to be on the extreme conservative side as far as their zone ratings are concerned. My experience in MY zone 8 climate is that you can plant fully hardy plants safely any time of the year as long as the soil is workable - I've installed entire landscapes in December and January. Most iris species are extremely hardy, durable plants and I would not hesitate planting them now.

Hellebore/Lenten rose is even more care-free than Carex. I let the crappy old Hellebore foliage just lay on the mulch beneath the plant since it seems to just disappear in short order. I figure it's just decaying organic matter enriching the soil. I'm 100% behind organic gardening but 150% behind zero garden maintenance. The Carex 'Ice Dance' plants are supposed to get a haircut every year early in the season but I haven't done that the past seven years and they're still looking just fine. They do send up some spindly seed-bearing stems early each year but I just ignore them and they just go away. One additional note about Carex 'Ice Dance:' I planted a single, nursery-grown plant in full shade back about 10 years ago. About 5 years ago I decided to divide it and plant the divisions in a part shade bed. I also gave some divisions to friends. Those have all taken off and are growing well. It's well-behaved but it's an amazing source of additional plants. I've never fed or watered either the Carex or the Hellebores. I'm in Southern New England. We're in the worst drought since I moved here 11 years ago and the Carex & Hellebores look the same as they do when we get normal rainfall. That says "bulletproof" perennial to me.

I’m in zone 10a, and I’ve gotten away with planting bare roots even later. That being said, I’d hate for you to go ahead, and then have problems, and no guarantee. I shaded my late planted bare roots and had to water very frequently. They were definitely slower to establish than the bare roots I had planted that January. They’re fine now, but the late planting did set them back. They struggled all summer until late fall, when the temps finally went down. By Spring they looked as good as my January planted bare roots. It was a lot of extra work, but I should have expected that with bare roots planted in June! :-) Burpees, btw, was very good about refunding me when I had a perennial fail to grow at all, and ultimately not survive. Lisa