Thank you Babka; I have plenty of mulch - shreaded leaves, pine needles. I was thinking of piling that on top of pots after hard freeze. But what mulch wouldn't invite critters? I was thinking of surrounding them all (pots) with chicken wire - chipmunks probably can get thru that. There are squirrels around-digging everywhere, hiding acorns... There is some voles around here - not where hostas will be; I am not sure they will be getting into pots-they usually 'eat' from underneath? I have had some bunnies around but didn't see them for past couple of months. Surprisingly, they never munched on anything except dandelions, and some of garden phlox. Rina This post was edited by rina_ on Sun, Oct 19, 14 at 23:13

I have an August Moon that has been in a 24 inch plastic pot for several years; it does better than the ones in the ground. I have had a June in a smaller foam pot for a couple of winters. I did not mulch either. I think I read the risk is too much water standing in the pot. Mine were out in the weather so they got rain. If you put them in a garage or out building you would have to remember to water.

Thanks, Ken. I do over-winter my cannas in the garage, Ken. I keep them in plastic pots, let them die then cut them about 3" above the soil. Then I wrap the pots in bubble pack and cover with brown paper bags. I leave them in the pots in the garage all winter, then start bringing them out in April. At that point, it's pretty much a labor of love to put them outside during the day and bring them back inside at night. It's a lot of work, but I just love them.

lindalana, thanks for giving me a lead on what the mystery plant is. I thought at first it didn't look enough like perilla, being very frilly: then saw there is a cultivar perilla frutiscens crispa. I have yet to eat any, I just like the way it looks. I've had a colony in the front yard for a while. When it crops up I could transplant it, but so far I like where it has shown up. How one ended up in the pot with the hosta is unknown: because that was in the back yard and the soil came from a bag. I think Peanut just wanted edible company. http://www.specialplants.net/shop/seeds/perilla_frutescens_var._crispa/