It's a hardy perennial Zone 3-9! Plant it now in moist retentive soil and a few hours of shade a day.
They are lovely in bloom. Great purchase!

Thanks Sharon. :-)

So can it grow as a houseplant during the winter? I'm very new to gardening so I'm trying to figure out how to tell if a plant can stay active all year (in the right temperatures) or if it needs to freeze for part of the year. Are there any general rules might help me know?

Crystal

Most perennials will need a period of dormancy or "winter rest" to grow normally. If you're not able to plant as suggested, you could attempt to overwinter your pot in a minimally heated part of your house, e.g. the garage, but not in complete darkness.

Thanks. I might try that. We had -5 here last night so just don't know if the plant would be able to survive if transplanted in this weather.

Crystal

Crystals, these plants are hardy to -40C to -34C which is what zone 3 is about. In fact, the best time to transplant perennials is when the weather gets cool and the plant starts entering dormancy. Because the plant will not 'feel' it's being moved and just 'wake up' in a different spot.

In my opinion, it's best to plant your plant outdoors now as sharonT has suggested. Don't make the mistake of treating it as an indoor plant. It will only sicken and perhaps die of some fungus. The perennials need to enter dormancy in winter and so all it's energies are reserved and regenerated in deep winter.

if you wish to add additional insulation to your plant, add leaf mulch on top of the plant. And when it snows, add a thick layer of snow on top the plant.

Ianna

Thanks ianna. That's very helpful. So being completely new to perennials I'm a bit confused as to how to mulch them. Do I just mulch the ground around them and then when it snows pile the snow up over top of the plant itself? The Bugbane is about 14 inches tall. Is the idea to have all the stems and leaves covered with snow eventually?

Also, I've been reading alot in these forums and I'm confused on leaf mulching. Sometimes people write to mulch with leaves and others write to remove any dead leaves from your flowerbeds to prevent mold or fungus issues. Is leaf mulching over winter okay but not great during the summer? If I do mulch with leaves over winter then will I have to be sure to remove them all in the spring?

I'm still a little confused but working hard to catch up with the rest of you. :-)

Crystal

The mulch is mainly to protect the roots.
Then you pull the mulch back from the plant when warm spring weather arrives.
Mark where you plant the Bugbane as it comes up later in my garden, and it may be thought as lost. It is just slow to poke through in spring.
It dies to the ground and then sends up new shoots in late spring.
Caroline

Oh my goodness! Thank you Caroline. I did not realize it was going to die to the ground! I would have assumed I lost it when that happened.

So much to learn....so little free time. 8^)

Crystal