My local garden centre has a 5 year hardy plant guarantee but won't include Croposma as they don't regard them as being too hardy. You could grow it in a pot and move it into a sheltered spot for the winter.

i bought one because the GC said it was hardy but having read up about it I took it back and they exchanged it for something else without a quibble. But in W Sussex you may well get away with it until the next hard winter if we ever have another. You could always put one of those fleece bags over it if the weather should get harsher - worth a try now you've got it as its too late to return it.

It still needs water all through the winter while dormant. You know how quickly those pots dry out and become like concrete. They usually end up on the compost heap. Just buy a new in the Spring.

Thank you all. The plant is lovely at the moment and I would like to keep it, so I suppose I have to give up the idea of planting it in the garden and find a sheltered spot for the pot, with fleece if necessary and water in the winter.