I finally agree with akamainegrower on something! They will be a die-back perennial. I have actually seen them advertised as annuals for z5 and below, really hilarious because they grow into 30' trees here.

I'm in the same zone you are -- used to be 5 now 6. My CMs will die back in a hard winter, but always come back. Last winter, they didn't die back because it was milder. I don't do anything to protect them. However I will not buy them unless they say hardy in Z5.

playing the zone pushing game is wishful thinking.. and potentially expensive ... but you have to do it with full knowledge that it is a game that you often dont win .... and even when you do ... for a few years.. eventually you lose ...

we have all tried it ... trust me on that ...

does your ground freeze???

ken

I agree with ken, I have even done it accidentally before successfully growing gardenias in zone 7.

Next spring don't be too hasty to write them off when they don't bud out- mine are very late starters, but they do show up eventually. My first few seasons with them I gave up and cut them to the ground thinking they had died back, but one year I had family emergency and couldn't garden in the spring and lo and behold they grew out from their full height. Who knew, lol.

z5 is about half the Us.. and wildly variable .. as zone is basically only min winter temp ...

if one night you get the same low temp.. youre in the same zone ... and in one area the ground freezes for 4 months.. and not in the other ..

i suspect ... CMs will not tolerate ground freeze .. as i have never seen them in adrian.. 30 miles north of toledo ...

regardless.. you have the plants.. so go for it ..

rose cone is a plus.. on some level.. better than a sharp stick in the eye ... put it on. in mid to late november ..the key is get it dormant.. keep it dormant.. put it on too early .. and you MIGHT prolong onset of dormancy ... and remove it in late march or so ... you dont wnat the cone to trigger early growth ... with months of frost freeze potential ...

to repeat: the key is get it dormant.. keep it dormant..

ken

We planted 2 crape myrtles the summer of 2004 that we brought back from a NC vacation. The first winter we covered them with the rose cones. Only one survived. Never covered it again. Each winter it would die down and each spring and summer it would sprout and grow about 5 feet. It did this for several years. Then in 2010 in late August it bloomed. It has bloomed every year since. Some years it has more flowers than others. This year less. I just let it go on its own I do not fertilize it and only trim the dead out of it in late spring. It's also planted in the middle of my back yard. I live 40 miles south of Toledo in Findlay.

Beth, do you know what variety that is? Was the one that died the same variety?

Don't know what variety but a friend has two here in z5. They survive

and bloom every year. No cover or protection. bought them at a big box store.