Thanks so much! I think many of the previous posters trickled away when Gardenweb became Houzz. I did prefer it before, but it still works! Eboone, can you direct me to instructions on winter protection? There's little I wouldn't do for my figs! Gary, my plants were in pots from 2011 until fall 2017 due to moving around a lot. Sal's did fine, Both Hardy Chicago did fine until I planted it in the ground (one of 2 died which I can't explain, but the remaining one is doing fabulously.) In my last real home in Maryland (also 7A), I had Sal's in the ground and Celeste. Sal's was amazing, despite significant die-back in the winters I had plenty of amazing figs. Celeste grew large but never produced figs before I moved away. My deceased plants this spring are one HC, Conadria (which was given to me and had never thrived), and a Brown Turkey, also a gift, and also didn't like my handling. I have been pinching the fruit babies for the last 6 years because I didn't want the trees wasting energy, but they died back anyway. This year, Sal's and Hardy Chicago are producing figs, especially HC, but I'm still pinching many in the hopes the plants will stabilize and produce good crops next year. I've have had 2-3 Celestes die on me since 2011. I keep trying, because I've heard such good things about Celeste, thinking they just don't like being in pots. The one I bought and planted in the ground last year is alive....but I can't really comment beyond that. My Violette de Bordeau has struggled in the pot....most springs I thought it was dead but it rallied. I've had it for 4-5-6 years? It was one of the first I planted in the ground last year in the hope of saving it. It came back much stronger this spring. Still nothing like Hardy Chicago or Sal's, but at least I think I don't worry about it dying anymore. LSU purple was new last year, and it survived---barely. Eboone, thanks for the suggestions! I'll start looking around! By the way, can either of you tell me when is the season to make cuttings? I used to root them in damp paper towels with good success, but I don't remember what time of year I did it, and the last batch I tried did very poorly.... Thanks so much! Ann

Thanks, FataMorgana, for your analysis. In summary, three of my herbs (1,2,3) will need to be restarted every year, and four (5,6,7,8) are definitely hardy. Sage will be hardy if I switch to the regular kind. Two (9,10) are marginal. Lavendar might do better if I switched to the "munstead" variety. Rosemary may be the only herb that would benefit from the cold frame idea. The herbs that failed last winter may have failed because they had been transplanted from pots, and may not have had a chance to rebuild their root systems before winter. Perhaps I should see if the Thyme and Oregano survive next winter before trying the cold frame idea. Judging from another thread on this forum about mint, maybe I should have left my Peppermint in its pot, or plant it pot and all in the raised bed, to prevent spreading. Earlier this year, I pulled up and gave away half of it. As for the Dill, I suppose I can 'preserve' it by seed. If I let it drop its seed in the bed, I feel I will not have enough control over where it grows. But I am not sure how best to harvest the seed, and when to plant it. You said that Lavender and Thyme need lean, well-drained soil to survive. Does 'lean' mean not much compost? My herb bed is well-drained because I mixed a lot of sand with the soil, and the raised bed helps drainage. I automatically water the bed with a timed drip system. Do the Lavender and Thyme prefer less water? If so, I can move the drip stakes further away from them.

I'm in 6b in the mid-Hudson Valley, so not too different from NoNJ. As to rosemary -- don't know what variety, was started from supermarket cuttings in water -- I have never kept it outdoors over winter. I have them in pots in a very sunny location. Come fall (like TODAY!) I repot them in clean mix after washing off the roots and take them indoors, sunny window. Mist them once in a while, too, besides water when needed. They like that. As to sage, I have a six year old plant originally grown from seed (don't recall what variety either) and they have survived in the ground with no special covering even given last winter's amazing snow depth. Come Spring, I prune any bad stuff off fairly aggressively and they always spring back. That mother plant is almost a shrub at this point.

How fun to find another Memphis person! Yes, pineapple sage can absolutely come back year after year here. It can also die out completely in some spots -- so it'll add a little bit of mystery to your bed: will it come back this year? Will it not? :) I agree with what someone else suggested: leave it in the ground and hope it comes back, but also take some cuttings to keep inside over the winter, just in case it doesn't. I think you'll have good luck with it, though, if you find a good, warm spot for it, like in front of a south-facing wall. You might also try not cutting the stems back until spring. Next time you're at the Memphis zoo, check out the several clumps of pineapple sage growing around the African veldt area. There's some in front of the bontebok antelope (right between some butterfly ginger and some zebra grass, which all makes a beautiful combination, by the way, in the fall), and some on the opposite side in front of the Nile Lechwe antelope and the ostriches. Those have all been coming back faithfully for years. They probably receive some protection from the low concrete wall back behind them. Remember in the spring that they come up kinda late, so don't give up if you don't see them sprouting immediately. And if you DO lose it over the winter, get some more and try it again! Luckily the plants are easy to find at almost every nursery, home improvement store, and local plant sale. Good luck!