second-hand late-season rhizomes: plant or refrigerate?

[founddrama]

I've found a few threads that talk planting and refrigerating, but nothing that quite gets at what I need for my situation.

Short version: my friend was getting rid of his Cascade rhizomes and I gladly took them off his hands. It is (however) late August here in Vermont (USDA Zone 4A) and I'm trying to figure out if I'm better off...

(1) Finding a spot to plant them outside now, even though it may not be their permanent home on the property.

(2) Planting them in some big pots that I have free -- to buy time until the normal planting time.

-or-

(3) Keep them moist and in the refrigerator until the normal planting time.

Thanks, and cheers!

 

[day_trippr]

How old are these rhizomes?
In any case, I'd plant 'em one way or the other, even if not in their permanent homes...

Cheers!

 

[founddrama]

How old are these rhizomes?
In any case, I'd plant 'em one way or the other, even if not in their permanent homes...

I had the rhizomes in my hands about an hour after they were pulled out of the ground. I think they were in their previous home for a couple years.

Your response is helping me hone in on what I guess I'm really asking:

What kind of damage might I do to them with the late-season planting? Or will they stay healthy indoors in pots? Or will they be OK if kept damp in the refrigerator for a couple months?

Certainly the ideal would be to get them in the ground, I'm just afraid of moving them again in 6 months.

Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

A two gallon pot would be plenty to get them going.
You can bury the pots in the ground covered with leaf mulch before frost sets, then transplant them in the Spring.

Given how far away workable ground in 2017 is likely to be in your area, I think parking the rhizomes in the fridge for that long would take its toll...

Cheers!