I've seen several references to that plant being hardy zones 9 - 11, and a couple referring to 8b. If I had to bet, you're not going to be successful keeping that outdoors in Charlotte, being zone 7b. I'm not sure what kind of success you might have with it in a container that you can move indoors - or at least to a basement or garage. It sounds kind of large for that to me (being a multi-stemmed upright shrub to small tree), but maybe if you have a good sized container and plenty of room, you'll have good luck. I wouldn't plant it outdoors right now for sure, though. I did read that it is easily propagated by seed if you boil the seeds before planting. Maybe you could keep it going that way if it gets killed with the cold by starting new plants by seed indoors for the winter. ~Angie

Glad to have been able to offer a little help, Kay. I've planted trees too deep to begin with too, and then learned, luckily, before much damage was evident. Gardening is a learning process, the steepness of the learning curve is variable! The depth of planting is very likely the reason for the bare look at the top. Try to pull enough soil away from the trunk so that the root flare or collar is visible. If doing so leaves your Shishi in a depression, or worse yet, a hole, first and foremost, dig a trench so that excess moisture can drain away rather than sit. Then in late winter, while the tree is still completely dormant, but the ground no longer frozen, you can try digging around your tree (you could do this now, going around the tree a set distance from the trunk to get as much of the roots as possible, sinking the shovel in to the depth of the shovel blade). After going all the way around the tree (I'm talking late winter again), try loosening it, taking your time wiggling it and gradually lifting the root ball. When able, tip your tree to the side enough to shove some more dirt under the root ball. Proceed to the other side of the tree and do the same. When you think you've got it, stand the tree upright and check. If more is needed, just tip the tree again and continue building it up. When at the proper level, be absolutely certain to fill in any air pockets under the tree and firm in place. Re-mulch using the previously mentioned 'donut' method. If done in this manner, it IMHO less stressful to the tree than lifting it outright, plus it remains established through the worst part of the winter and the high winds we tend to get at this point in the year (at least in my area). I have remedied the planting of a tree in this manner in late January without ill effect, though that tree had only been in the ground for about 9mths. Also, our ground tends not to freeze under the snow cover, so I just shovelled the snow back in a large area, did the job, replaced the mulch and then the snow. In spring, I just checked again to make sure that the tree hadn't settled. With the base of your trunk able to breathe, I think the bark should harden on its own. Also, when you plant, try not to add to much to the planting hole, or you can end up creating a 'comfort zone' where conditions are so nice, the roots don't want to move out into native soil. If amending, make sure you do just that, amend the native soil, not replace it. Test your soil to see if it is alkaline, neutral or acidic before adding sulphur, as most JM will do fine on neutral soil as well. Also a good idea to test for nutrients before fertilizing. If you normally wrap your tree in 5A, I would suggest using stakes around your tree and then wrapping burlap around them, instead of right up against your tree. This gives your tree and the all important buds insulation against varying winter temps, where if they are up against the burlap, they are more susceptible to bitter cold and partiucarly warm, sunny days. Sorry this ended up being a book, hope it helps, and if anyone reads this with more experience and better suggestions, please chime in! Anne

All plant poisons are as effective, and work as well as, cutting these plants back to deprive the roots of nutrients they need to keep growing, and cutting the plants back is much less expensive and much more envronmentally friendly. These plant poisons, glyphosates, 2,4,D, Dicambra, etc. are all known to create problems with "lower" forms of life that might be an indication of what we are doing to our children. Keep any new green growth from these unwanted plants cut off and they will die out, eventually, just as spraying them repeatedly with poisons.

Don't feel bad about the pitchers. In fact you may have been better off just leaving them out on your porch. Keep in mind, that many of the native temperate pitchers (Sarracenia) are adapted to enduring the natural freeze and thaw cycles -- including snow and ice -- that often occur during the course of a winter. If these pitchers are ones that are native to your area or have been grown outdoors by people in your region, then just leave them out on your porch. What is more likely to kill the plants is to take them from the cold sun porch and bring them into a warm room. This can cause them to break dormancy too early. (And going from cold to really warm back to cold isn't good for them either.) In the wild, it is quite common for the last season's pitchers to die over the winter. In fact, many folks who over winter their sarrs in a fridge advocate cutting off ALL the pitchers before putting them in the fridge. New growth comes from the rhizome in the spring. (Just like irises and other perennials.) Considering where you live, your vft might be better off staying on you sunporch as well.