equinecpa, sorry I meant to address the "When question". I have taken my semi-tropical plants in already. I always think, because of all the winterizing of the pond etc, "do the plants now, before it becomes miserably cold outside and the job becomes a chore that becomes a PIA!" I keep some of my Taro in their pots, the others I split, if needed and re-pot them. Some I leave dry in their pot all winter, in a cool area of the basement, the others I keep under fluorescent lights in a warmer part of the basement [50/60°F] along with the other semi-tropical plants, i.e, Papyrus and African Sword. I give the plants under the light water once a week to keep them moist, they produce a few leaves all winter. Some folks have them as house plants, it is up to the individual. Have a can of insect spray handy, even if you change the soil [or pebbles in your case], there is a big chance you will bring in some little flying critter's eggs that will hatch over winter. Once you have your pots situated in the rubber maid container,if you place a clear plastic leaf bag over the plants, held up with some type of frame to make a plant tent. You can de-bug the plants with a spray of the bug killer. Cut a couple of slits in the top of the plastic tent to allow condensation to escape. If you decide to keep the clear cover over the plants make sure that the plants are getting enough air circulation within the plastic tent or they could rot. Hope this helps, "Horton"

whats in the pots??? soil/dirt .. or potting soil? if you have multiples.. i suggest you try a variety of methods, rather than investing in one method.. which may or may not work .... in other words.. experiment ... i only have experience in sinking pots with native soil ... sand.. which is never a drainage issue ... i see the following issues: drainage wetness at the roots heave of the pots timing sunlight on dark pots and i am sure more than that ... i know a hosta guy who has hosta seedlings in trays .... of course shorter than your stock ... he simply pulls a cover over railroad ties.. with chicken wire for rodents.. and plenty of rodent bait ... you might try some bails of straw .... around a group of pots .... and then some lose [key word] straw around the pots to protect from sunlight ... this will reduce wind.. and sun ... anything that is heavy is not recommended .. like un-shredded leaves .. light and airy is the idea ... good luck ... and as noted.. do NOT put ALL YOUR MARBLES IN ONE BUCKET ... ken

Yay!!! I think Hot Cocoa and Florentina are Kordes? (Edit: on further research HC is not a Kordes, but Florentina is.) HC seems very happy on the deck. I may plant it in the yard sooner than I'd planned because of that. We did plant Pretty in Pink by the fence. I think it will be gorgeous there. We put it in an 24"x16" whiskey barrel so it has it own space. The flower snob wants to do 3 Westerlands in whiskey barrels along the back fence behind the waterfall. I think Westerland would do well there because that fence line tends to be sheltered for the hottest part of the afternoon. Although I think doing 3 is excessive? btw We are doing containers in some places because our yard is so rocky. The bushes and trees planted in the ground are planted in raised beds we built that are 18"-36" deep.

Another vote here for wintering them outdoors! I have been doing this for years with my potted roses (these are, incidentally, 1-2 gallon pots; usually roses that either I can't quite decide where they should go, or new own-roots that need to put on some size before I plant them out in the garden). I bury the pots in my veggie garden (your dahlia spots sound like they'd be perfect). I make sure that I dig them in deep, so for instance if they are grafts, make sure the graft is underground. Then I throw straw on top, and that's it. This has worked really really well for me. Also, I have 5 very big potted roses (3 of them climbers). They are much too big to move, but they are right up against the house. For them, I just pile straw around the base of the pots. Just the base - one year I piled it on top of the pots and I had vole damage. They've made it through quite a few winters with no difficulty (I should note that I deliberately chose very hardy varieties, including Felix LeClerc and Cape Diamond. But there's also Weeping China Doll which HelpMeFind only lists as hardy to zone 6, so there you go). So I think if for whatever reason you can't dig them all into the ground, you might be able, in zone 6, to get away with having them right against the house and adding a little protection.