Hi Scott--I am no expert on the thing, but, I will tell you what I have learned by desiccating plants...
they die.
That said, many plants do just fine dry and dark all winter.
Avoiding winter wet just means avoiding soggy conditions generally, and especially during winter dormancy. It doesn't mean no water ever, at all, or if one drop of rain blows in from the side that everything dies.
The lengths you must go to, to avoid winter wet and rot, are directly related to how much rain you actually get and how well-drained your media is.
I made a lot of planting areas very freely draining all concerned about the 'winter wet' issue, which I don't have a problem with here because snow isn't wet until it melts
But of course, now, summer is my biggest problem because it doesn't rain here then either.
Anyway,
Nyewood Cream is a nice one; it has topped out at about a 2' spread here so you might consider planting it where it has more room.
It has also been a consistent massive bloomer for me without any fertilization and our deer don't eat it.
