Overwintering?

I have some Sky Pilot Rare Jacob's Ladder P. viscosum (Yes, I am VERY proud of it ;) ) and I want to plant them so they can develope good roots over the winter. Do I need to do anything special? I'm afraid they might die. I'm in zone 6-7.

Do I mulch them and how heavily? Will they be able to come back up next spring?

No, nothing special for Polemonium after you have planted them in the ground. You do need to get them in as soon as you can though and water them every few days if the soil starts drying out. And, this is a native plant so I'd avoid adding any fertilizer. You might want to put a pine bark nugget mulch around the base to help retain moisture and to keep out weeds which might compete with them for essential nutrients at a time when they need to be trying to establish a little. Your plants do need time to develop roots now before they die back go dormant for the winter. Mine like bright shade however I have a few in virtually full shade that are doing almost as well. I have several here, most notably P. reptans L. and the first few years I piled extra leaves around them. It made me feel better. Then there was the bitterly cold year with little or no snow cover and I realized I had forgotten to blanket them with extra leaves and I figured they were gonners. Nope, they came back full force. Now I don't bother doing anything special and I'm 1-2 zones further north than you. I know I have about 20 plants left to go in the ground this weekend and I swear after that I am calling it quits and I will not buy any more plants even if a nice native P. viscosum slaps me in the face and says "Buy me". I say that every year and every year I break my promise to myself. Best wishes to you getting them in the ground.

Sigh. I can breath easy now! Thanks!

i have found that more people will end up killing there plants by 'covering' them with mulch. If a plant is hardy for your zone, there is no need to cover them,,,doing so will only invite pests and disease to occupy the crown and possibly killing the plant. 'Winter wet' is by far and away the worst enemy to a plant than is cold. Mulching over a plant, is only beneficial when you are 'cheating a zone' hardiness,,,where a plant is marginally hardy to your area or colder...and you need to put extra protection on the plant to make up for the zone hardiness deficiency. Please dont cover plants in winter,,,they arent like people, and liken it to putting on a 'winter blanket' for there benefit, it only hurts the plant. If the plant is hardy,,,its hardy without our 'help'.

I know it's really important but I forgot to mention that these are maybe less than two seasons old seedlings.

Shouldn't matter.

I'm so relieved, thanks! Maybe I'll have some to share next year!