We have no idea what climate zone you are in, so can't answer you.

Jasamina, I live on the Southwest coast of Florida and my chenille plant always get nipped from the frost every winter. I cut it down in the spring and it grows nice and full very quickly. I would suggest you keep it in a pot for now so you can move it to the garage or other protected location on cold nights. Then plant it in the ground in the spring.
Linda Leaf

Jasamina, I live on the Southwest coast of Florida and my chenille plant always get nipped from the frost every winter. I cut it down in the spring and it grows nice and full very quickly. I would suggest you keep it in a pot for now so you can move it to the garage or other protected location on cold nights. Then plant it in the ground in the spring.
Linda Leaf

The zone I'm in is 9b. The people at the nursery said to go ahead and put it in the ground but currently I have them in hanging baskets to move them in case we do get a freeze.

Acalypha hispida is the botanical name of this plant - it doesn't like it when temperatures drop below 50.

I thought I posted a response to this yesterday, but I must have forgotten to hit the final "post" button.

I assume you are referring to Acalypha reptans/repens/pendula, the creeping plant which is often grown in hanging baskets. Acalphya hispida is also called "Chenille plant" and is an upright bush about 5 feet tall with much larger leaves (several inches). The catkins also get much longer--I think up to about 20 inches long.

We can grow Acalypha reptans outside in California zones 9/10 but I've only seen A. hispida in greenhouses. I have heard it grows outside in South Florida.

I had never seen Acalypha reptans planted in the ground here, so I bought a plant in January or February of this year and planted rooted divisions of it in the ground. They didn't do much for a long time, and still haven't. I gave the potted plant to my mom and it also did not bloom for a long time, but finally did when the weather warmed later in Spring.

We are zone 9b, but are average temperatures in winter (and the rest of the year) are a lot lower than zone 9b in Florida. In winter we average about 60/40, with many, many nights in the 30s. Frosts tend to be very mild and only for a couple hours. So my experience is likely very different from that in the same USDA zone in Florida. I don't think the plant I put in the ground experienced any frost.

Plant Delights Nursery claims that one of the creeping varieties (they call it Acalypha pendula--I'm not sure if this is the same as A. reptans or not...) can survive in zone 7b.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Delight's Nursery claim of hardy Acalphya pendula