Xanthosoma Lime Zinger - dig or not dig

I posted this on the Aroid forum without any response - and with the forecast looking frosty, I'm getting antsy. Thought perhaps someone in my zone here could help?

I have a Xanthosoma sagittifolium (Lime Zinger), growing in ground in my shade garden. It's 3 years old and I've dug it out of the ground and potted it up to overwinter indoors the past 2 winters. PF says it's hardy to zone 8, but I assume that's "root" hardy.

Question: Anyone have this xanthosoma in ground in zone 8 and if so, has it survived a winter, and how long did it take to come back?.

This one's gotten pretty large- bout 3.5 feet tall and wide.

Many thanks for any advice!
Deb

That sounds like a fantastic plant. I have not seen any others that size and nothing succeeds like success so my suggestion would be to keep digging. Sorry, I know that is not what you wanted to hear. :-(

Or, you could always experiment with FreezePruf.

I've always dug 'em and lugged 'em, Deb. But last year I pitched a scraggly one in the woods. Didn't "plant" it, just tossed it. It rooted itself, and produced a much prettier plant than the one I tossed...in total shade! Same thing with Alocasia "porta dora". That nasty winter blast we had last year totally whacked my 12' prize porta dora, so when spring finally came, we whacked "momma" back to nothing, hoping it would come back from the roots...(it did). Pitched all the trimmings into the woods, where 3 of the "pieces" flourished and were dug by similarly afflicted folk. Now have happy homes! By surrendipity... But it makes me wonder about the "body of wisdom" that dictates what can and can't be grown in the low country. If I can throw "pieces" into the woods and have them root, and grow...
My personal experience on this question is that these "marginals" CAN be grown here in the low country, but they're "iify"... Worth a try!

I also have a portadora, which is potted, so it's pretty easy to drag in and out.
The Zinger looks so happy, an is so nice and big, that ...I may wimp out and dig it...but still toying with leaving it out and mulching heavily.
Sigh....waffling.

Hey you guys, I was told that if you compost (not mulch) the tropicals for our zones they would be ok. Cut the top off and compost over. The compost puts heat in the ground and keeps the roots warm and it puts out in spring and grows back. I'm in zone 7 and going to with my Bird of Paradise. It gets too big to lug in and out every year. So in early summer I planted it in ground and just composted it and will cut off before first frost and completly cover it with newspapers and compost. In spring take off the cover so sun can get to it and help it grow another top. Mulch just holds in water and compost holds in heat. You might try that for yours if you decide to leave it out.

Interesting. I recently asked Tony Avant about keeping EE's happy and he said compost, compost and more compost.

Ah! That's an idea! Hmmm. The Zinger made a pup this season; perhaps I'll dig the baby and let the big guy stay out with compost.

My EEs bloomed this year and I just compost them every winter. I never have dug them before. My mail lady has butterfly ginger and she leaves it out every year and just compostes it. It blooms so sweet. I planted some this year and left it out composted. We got frost and freeze last night and again tonight and so far so good. I even have an Iris ready to bloom again out there. This is crazy weather this year.

I don't dig up EE's or anything like that. I believe I might have a lime zinger not sure but it's big and looks like one. That one did get hit last year by some very cold weather and I was afraid it was dead. We hit around 24-25 degrees for a couple of nights. I don't know if what I have sprouted from seeds or was coming from the roots. Whatever EE this is flowered and seeded last year, it's just something I got from someone so I don't pay that much attention to it.