Mine died in the almost solid clay soil as well. *sigh*
But they do great in a large container. =)

I have them placed against a west wall and they seem to like that amount of light and shade (no sun till around 11 am). Moisture is the biggest thing about them in a container and I would recommend using water crystals to help out. As for winterizing them, I pack them in a slightly sheltered corner of the house (under a slight overhang) with all of my other perennial containers and empty bags of leaves over them, making sure I push some down in between each pot and between the pots and the house. I usually have a bag or two to mold around the exposed side and place rocks on them so they don't go anywhere. By springtime I have a great light amount of leaf mold on the tops of all the pots and in between them. =)

Best of luck to you.

I found a TRAILING carnation this year (T&M, I think), and am excited to try it exclusively in containers. This is T&M's pic, but I know I got the seeds from valueseeds.com

{{gwi:17922}}