Sorry I'm not sure what you mean by the base being green and alive, but you haven't seen "shoots and leaf out". Sounds more like it is dead, I think you need to post a picture to clarify. BTW it was very late in the year to do something like that unless you are in a cool summer climate like Maine or the PNW.

Assuming this is the Purple Passion, you should be able to see some regrowth pretty quickly. Within the next month as a guess. Whatever the other defects of this variety, in my experience, it did tend to regrow easily even when the top growth was decimated by winter.

Yep, it's the passion. That's both helpful and encouraging. I'm going to move it into the house before the first freeze, and then into the garage in March to give it a chill before moving it outside again (if that makes sense). Thank you for your advice!

Iseltzer317537: If you want this rhododendron to survive, do NOT bring it into the house for the winter. The heat and dryness of the average home will cause serious desiccation and quite probable death of any growth that appears over the course of the summer. In addition, rhododendrons of this type require a period of time in temperatures close to or below freezing in order to initiate growth buds for next year. Do not feel yours must be protected from freezing. It needs lower temperatures to grow normally. Instead of bringing it into the house, follow the procedure outlined in the other thread for storingin the garage after it has been exposed to cold outdoors and has entered dormancy. Believe me, commercial rhododendron growers would be ecstatic if they thought they could keep their stock growing 365 days a year by shifting to a heated space for the winter. Can't be done. If you doubt my advice, check in any of the excellent rhododendron books by Harold Greer, Peter Cox, Edward Reilly, David Leach. Probably lots of online sources for how to overwinter as well.

I don't doubt your advice, I just wonder how long a period of chilling would make sense for rhodos. March, April and early May are bitterly cold in my hometown, but the period from December to February is totally North of the Wall. Frankly I like the idea of bubble wrap technique all winter long much better, as I would have to figure out where to store plants in the house - garage space is at less of a premium. So i will go with that!

If you have a cellar where temperatures remain low but not below freezing, that would be even better than an unheated garage. The danger in overwintering rhododendrons in pots is that a very lengthy period of extreme cold can cause the roots to freeze. This is not likely to happen in a protected garage in most winters, but a long period of sub zero temperatures might be too much.

It's sprouting! It's sprouting!