Up here in zone 7 I leave the dead stems standing until April. It is supposed to help with their hardiness in marginal climates. It probably doesn't matter in your zone. Watch out for Van Remsen. The biggest of my plants is about 8'x8' and is only kept upright by very large stakes and string around the edges along with some Canna Lily. Up here you have to wait a long time for Van Remsen to bloom, but it make up for lost time with a dazzling show. You shouldn't need to winterize your plants.

My S. guaranitica (black and blue) overwinter just fine in zone 8b, using the benign neglect approach and cutting back the dead stems in the spring (only because the plants are easier for me to find in spring that way). They can be slow to start new growth and blooming. One year I thought I had lost one in a pot, only to see new shoots coming up in my pot graveyard.

Thanks, wardda. Staking sounds like a good idea, esp with the violent thunderstorms in this area. Winds are often quite violent. If I stake it early on I will not risk having half of it broken off in a storm. I liked hearing that it is well worth waiting on Van Remsen.

Thanks, basil108. It is easy for me, too, to forget what is where and mess it up. If I leave fair sized pieces of the stems I can see where it is and not throw out my favorite new plant by mistake in the early spring.

Thanks to you both, good info!

Im in zone 6 and cover guaranitica after cutting them to the ground and they come back every year. Cover with a tarp or plastic or and plastic bags of leaves. Or you can grow from runners but not roots.

Thanks, hummersteve, I enjoy your posts in the hummer54 forum. I know these plants will come back but I am always interested in propagation. Van Remsen is supposed to be well behaved so there may not be a lot of runners.

For Purple Majesty how do I propagate from runners? Do I wait until the runner has produced a stem with some leaves and then cut off the runner? Thanks for your help.

Purple Majesty is a hybrid without runners. Van Remsen form also does not have runners, and only a few tubers.

Thanks, Rich, that is great to hear. I know that they will be big plants if I succeed with them and I am glad to learn that I will not have the additional problem of runners needing to be kept in check. Thanks so much for your expertise!