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.

Oregano and mint used to show up in the same area every summer until I started to heavily till the soil. Because oregano can set seeds, they can survive and sprout the next year. I have the same issue with mammouth dill, and have not actually planted any for a few years. Once the seeds drop, into soil, they can survive cold winters and will sprout very early the next spring. Because I allowed my oregano to blossom, as well as the thyme, I think they mey return this summer in the same area. If not, I'll just start up a couple of new seedlings just in case.

A few years ago I bought some big glazed pots at Christmas Tree Shop that were supposed to be frost-proof. I was a little skeptical since they were inexpensive, but so far they're doing OK, even though I don't empty them. I bought a big concrete planter a couple of years ago and I like it so much I'm trying to be careful with it. It's too big and heavy to move much and we have no room inside, but I've been emptying the dirt out, turning it upside down with a couple of 1 x 2's under it to lift it off the bluestone under it, and putting a pebble over the drain hole. So far so good, though this is only the second winter. Other glazed pots or terra cotta pots haven't fared so well, and they tend to spall and break in layers rather than just cracking in place. I missed the Mahoney's sale so far, probably just as well, though it sure sounded tempting. I did go in briefly on the 26th to see if a PVC Christmas tree I liked was left--it wasn't. I drooled over those coppery pots from a distance but didn't realize they were on sale, otherwise one probably would have gone home with me! I keep wavering between my vow to not buy any more heavy planters, and my lust for the gorgeous ones. But I only have so much space! I did successfully resist a really nice concrete one by Campania at Homegoods that was marked down to a very low price a few weeks ago. Someone got a good deal on that one. Why is it that really nice resin or fiberglass planters are as expensive or more so than pottery? They're SO much more practical, but hard to afford. I'm pasting below a link to the care instructions posted by Campania, the maker of the cast stone (AKA concrete) planter I mentioned above. Here is a link that might be useful: Canpania planter winter care instructions

Yes even here it's still an evolving situation. For example, I would now rank the damage on Ilex 'Scepter' as being more severe than that on 'Sand Pond'. Once again proving how a 100% American X American hybrid is more resistant to our capricious weather than an Asian X European one...as you'd expect. Because the leaves of 'Sand Pond' are obviously reviving themselves, but those of 'Scepter' continue to dessicate and turn papery brown. I wish I had a male I. integra, it would be cool to make a 'Sand Pond' X integra cross. (I should clarify versus what I said on Feb 23rd: some 'Scepter' leaves were still undamaged at that point. All 'Sand Pond' leaves had minor damage. Now, ALL 'Scepter' leaves are basically dead and some are already falling off. Most 'Sand Pond' leaves still have damage but the green bits are getting greener, it seems. The March 5 freeze was by far the most damaging of the winter) There's some rather odd damage now becoming apparent even on Abies ernestii...sometimes rated as hardy as 5b and I've seen a huge, beautiful one near Rochester, NY. (part of the reason I bought one) The leaves have little yellowish spots...I might post to the conifer forum to see if someone has seen anything like it. They are so subtle they might be impossible to photograph. It's like a very subtle variegation. Certainly not serious, but fascinating. All in all as they say, it still could have been worse. It also makes me feel good about my choice years ago not to invest in trying a big, expensive Trachycarpus palm. Because I thought north of about St. Michael's, MD or maybe Cape May, NJ - and even those locations are really really pushing it- they have no chance of being truly long term plants w/o protection. I knew another winter like 1994 would happen, and it did. What I did not know is we would have 2 in a row! I reiterate that 'Soquel' is my best looking Sequoia...granted it is my oldest but the bigger 'Swarthmore Hardy'/'Chapel Hill' has been in the ground a while, too, and arguably in a better spot. (better soil) Not that it is an appropriate rating, but I'm reminded of Dr. Dirr's former SEO website that rated 'Soquel' as zn 6 hardy. Not true but he apparently had some information about it surviving cold temperatures well, which it does. If you need to try one in the DC area, I'd now recommend that over any of the others. I want to try to see the huge tree in Silver Spring MD this spring, to see how it weathered things, and the 2 that are almost as big in NoVA. BTW - given that exposed Leylands were damaged even last winter in the outer suburbs of Baltimore, I definitely think most of New England would be stretching it for them.