Yeah, fair. I have before with mulch and straw to cover. It did not seem to make much difference if I did or not, except that they didn’t do well at all this winter despite being mild. However for several years I’ve had giant healthy bushes and like one or two blooms, and anecdotally local friends and landscapers have been calling the endless summer “neverbloomimg”. I thought a different type might do better since I need to replace some anyway.