Get them in the ground as early as possible... and feed them rel well and often...then again....you want them as strong and built up as possible... so the roots will have developed as deep as possible... diging out a terribly deep hole then refilling it with loose soft soil... perhaps fluffed out with some potting soil... to encourage the root development to be into the deep path of least resistance... and retained water.. if you wrapped a cut back [plant with padding.. then a noo freeze heat tape wrapped around a pipi next to i under more padding and a heat retesive covering... I bet you could get down colder than 6 .. but you still have to keep the soil warm enough also...
where Charleen is and where my mother is in zone 7 .. they come back from the roots... usually.. nothing above ground survives at mothers in Nortth Alabama.. about 10 miles from TN... they have been comming back for 10+ years I'd say
