I am so excited and surprised to see this posting. Several years ago I had the same experience with this plant. I just thought it would live for a while, but even through the hard winters, this strawberry begonia is thriving. It lives and stays pretty year round. This summer, it got a little too dry and seemed weak. I have transplanted it to other gardens also. Just keep it in a shady garden and water it. Mine spread beautifully though not extremely fast.