I don't know anyone who successfully overwintered brugs in the ground in New Jersey, but these days nothing would surprise me. I'm not sure how many more years I'll be willing to dig up and store the plant in my semiheated florida room. I did pick up a tip I'm trying this year from the brug site. Someone suggested cutting holes in a large pot for the roots to escape and then plunging the pot into the ground. At the end of the season the roots growing out the holes can be severed, and that pot nested in another pot. This method should cut down on root disturbance. I have this strange notion that brugs are most beautiful when they are tall, at least 8 feet or so; then their flowers can hang down to about eye level.