The ones already in the ground I would leave alone except for mulching well. The newly planted ones I would heel into the raised beds and then mulch well.

As far as the geraniums, this might be helpful.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/flowers/saving-geraniums-over-winter/

For you other perennials, as long as your soil is still warm and you havent experience a hard frost, I would dig a few out to see if the root system has improved since you recently planted them in the raised beds for winter. If you do not see any change, I would go ahead and amend the soil with the gritty mix, keep them evenly moist for a few more weeks, and protect them with an extra layer of mulch.

gardengal: to me, healing in is 'without pots'. Do you mean 'in their pots'?

Tina, Thank you. Saving a lovely pergo "geranium' was next on my list to research. However, the geraniums I asked about were the non-tender, hardy perennial-in-zone 6 varieties. I see your second post addresses that.

tomorrow, to the garden!

Heeling in can be accomplished with or without pots - it is only sinking the rootball (in or out of a container) below the soil surface temporarily for protection......usually cold protection. Heeling in containerized plants in zones where they are unlikely to be winter hardy above ground is extremely common and a decent way to provide additional insulation against the cold.

And I would not dig up the already planted ones at this late date of the season - there is no need for any root disturbance and it could be detrimental to their survival over winter if disturbed now. Mulching is all that is required :-)

Pelargoniums - zonal geraniums - are pretty easily overwintered as houseplants :-) Or if you check some of the overwintering threads on the Geraniums forum, you will find a number of alternate methods as well.

Gardengal, In my experience plants heeled in without pots tend to become "permanent" in situ though I've once or twice found "heeled in" plants in pots that were forgotten and managed to survive quite a long time. The main reason I don't like heeling in larger trees and shrubs is that it annoys me to dig a hole knowing that I'll have to dig another one come spring. Never mind that many of my plants involve at least two or three holes; my design process is plant and move until the result is pleasing. Unfortunately, I lack spacial perception to get it right the first time and the imagination to grasp what a 2 foot shrub will look like as a 5 foot one or in 10 years.

However, needs must and these are small plants.

Thanks, people Marie