I have had one for about 1 year , and I learned the hard way about keeping the soil wet enough , ( bud blast ). The idea of multi-plants in one pot sounds really good. It never occurred to me to trim it back , partly because mine seems to have a different growth habit than the rest of my Hoyas , ( not trailing out of a hanging pot ,like pubicalyx or compacta ) and not clumping and stubborn to shape , like the kerrii or australis keysii ). Mine has 2 branches that go straight up , then they curve over near the top. I don't know what the plant would do , if it wasn't tied to a bamboo stake . I would love to see a photograph of a large mature plant , as well as a photograph of multiflora in the wild. Florajilly

The top of the root may get dead in the oldest areas. If I notice this is dead I just break pieces off. New shoots will come from portions still alive so I never get large areas with no new shoots. In the winter when I cut the old plant back I leave about six inches of the old stems. These dry and are very stiff in the winter and protect the new buds. The stiff dry shoots from the year before now will usually be able to break off. These often will take a part of the root top with them. Where the weather is colder and the buds are below the soil level this may not be true. For us who must deal with minimum chilling the top of the root is exposed to air temperatures which allows us to grow peonies that bloom. Al

I'm going to bump this back up to the top and set it on the base of a related plant - Cyclamen, not because I've grown either dodecatheon nor cyclamen outdoors. I can't remember doing anything other than picking up a florist cyclamen as a gift. Hardy cyclamens bloom at a different time of year but, perhaps, their care is similar. Shooting stars are most everywhere here in the lightly forested areas and some of the grasslands. Blooming so early in the season, they are a delight for someone taking a walk in the woods on a warm Spring day. digitS'

I'd say it decays away in May or early June for me. So not as ephemeral as that. Bloodroot can also retain foliage (but it doesn't have much to begin with) over summer. It's been more than five years, sorry, I have no idea now (and I don't think my ebay purchases go back that far). I can't think of much that meets your wishes, because most things I can think of that die down that early, require a drier rest than your hostas are going to tolerate....plus hostas aren't really that late in leafing out, so would get in the way of things needing to store energy. There's a couple of winter foliage orchids that might fit the bill, but they tend to flower in late summer/autumn before growth of the foliage, so all you'd be getting would be patterned foliage for winter/earliest spring. If you're warm enough, some of the winter foliage lycoris could grow there and produce late summer/autumn flowers. One thing that surprised me (after seeing in grow in the wild) is how much better it grows with 1/2 sun than mostly shade. Is that your issue Katob maybe? Though I have to say when some hot sun hits it..the foliage looks pretty sad till the sun gets off it (this is on 80+ degree spring days..which aren't too many usually).