I went back and looked at a few photos of mine from last year , and would say it might be best to put them in the ground before this winter if you can. Mine really seemed to take off on their 2nd year , as soon as it started warming up.
I also transplanted one this year that was growing in the lawn , broke the tap root and all and it is still doing well in the flower bed lost a few outer leaves but kept growing new growth with only one or two good watering after transplanting.
