Thanks Kate.
Sadly we have only a carport but perhaps I could put a few plants there if necessary. Out front porch runs much of the distance of the front of the house so there is plenty of room there to keep plants out of the rain and protect them from much of the wind.
The portion I will leave in the ground will have some milk cartons with the tops & bottoms cut off, then taped with blue painter's tape to make the sleeve as tall & wide as needed to go around the plant (the blue tape stands up VERY well to the elements and leaves no mess behind unlike the old brown masking tape). The top is left "open" (as in "no plastic") so it can breath and some rain can get in. Several inches around that I build a chicken wire tube and leaves are stuffed between it and the milk carton sleeve. Another little piece of chicken wire sits atop all of this and holds more leaves over the top of the plant. This seems to work well for other plants since the milk cartons help prevent wind, and they hold the insulating leaves away from the plant. Obviously the leaves will not allow sun but since it's dormant there's no problem. It has worked well as at protecting plants in the past. I suppose just a ring of chicken wire inside instead of milk cartons would work too though I originally put the cartons in to help keep critters from wintering inside.
