I'm in Reading, PA, and the weather is coller than that of Virginia - but that much cooler. It would be too cold to leave a VFT outside for the winter unless it was mulched up. I bought a VFT last June. I placed it on an east facing window sill at the lab in which I work. It grew well for the duartion of the summer. As Summer turned to Fall, the photoperiod and temps lowered. Since the sill is not airtight, the sill temp also got colder. It was not unusual for it to be in the low 50's. In November I brought it home and placed in between the storm and inner kitchen window. The temps were still not cool enough, though, due to "greenhouse effect." So I moved it to the back, screened in porch, wher it was cooler, but still drawing heat from the back of the house. The there was the cold snap and the soil briefly froze. I then moved the plant to the refrigerator butter keeper, wher it stayed until February. Then I moved back to work, to a lab fridge, until it was mid-February. Then it was back to the cold, drafty window sill, wher it gradually warmed up and increased its light. And finally outside, where it rewarded me with 2 flower stalksw. Unfortunately, I moved it toa nother location outside, for the weekend - and it was reduced to nothing by a critter. Believe it or not, at no time did I have the plant covered by a lid or a baggie. And the key thing is to have its temps and light change gradually, according to the seasons.