I can't advise because mine are always new growth from the roots, the above-ground parts don't survive. But I do save cuttings in jars and jugs of water over winter, to get a head-start. Adding this in case you would feel better about cutting if you can preserve the cuttings, or some. If you put some in the ground for summer, you might be impressed. I never try to dig anything back up, just cut off and re-root. Not sure there is any benefit to having older, woody parts.
That is where these blooms came from. A cutting stuck in a milk jug of water over winter, then put in a big yard pot after frost was done.
