overwintering pond plants

Hi everyone. Just started my pond in May, so I'm a newbie. I was told by a few pond people that I could overwinter my plants indoors, even the ones for my zone, 5A. Winters are pretty harsh, & I want to have as many plants as possible survive for next year. I have hardy plants as mentioned, but was wondering if I should move my non hardy plants(umbrella palm, bog pimpernel, etc.) inside for the winter or buy new ones for next year. Should I move the hardy ones too. My pond is about 32" deep. Do I leave the water in, or drain it? Thanks

I can only speak to hardy water lilies, but mine over wintered well for years.

One year I left them in the bottom of the pond with the pump running so it didn't freeze all the way down (30 inches in zone 5b).

Several years I pulled them out of the pond in their planting baskets, let them drain a couple hours, and then tied them into black garbage bags and put them in a cool corner (60 degrees +/-)of the basement.

Both ways they were just fine and quickly leafed out when temps rose or when returned to the water. Never lost a one.

How about the floating plants (lettuces, hycinths). How can they be over wintered? And what about bog plants. They are growing in my bio-filter rocks so do I need to pull them out. I have mexican bluebells, iris, corkscrew plant & a canna.

Thx

I tried bringing water hyacinth in the house but I could never get enough light on them. They always turned to mush on me really quickly.

cannas & elephant ears are dug up in the fall in our zones. I let them dry up for a few days, clean them off & put them in a paper bag in the basement, or somewhere cool. In the spring, after the frost, plant them for another year of growth. They multiply quite well.

FYI: There is a great co-op here at Daves for TWL (Texas Water Lillies). You can buy at wholesale price. I tried to overwinter and found it a very long and tiresome chore and still a lot of them died. Cannas-pull the tubers up and dry them and store them in a cool dry place surrounded with peat. Floaters-just let them die they are cheap to replace and don't overwinter well at all even with plant lights (I tried). I tried to keep my umbrella plant alive last year and I did manage it but it never quite recovered this summer. My new ones from TWL were way nicer.

All the water lilies (hardy) return each year. As do Lotus. Tropicals will not and I did not try to save them last winter.

Thank you all. I think I will just let the floaters die; drop the lilies to the bottom and pray the bog plants survive too.

I've tried floaters inside for the last 3 years (I'm stubborn) in an indoor tropical aquarium that has lights and water heater...each time they were mush by the end of October. I think I've finally decided it's not worth it.

You should bring the umbrella plant inside - I usually bring in my umbrellas, elephant ears, and things like that and put them in a rubbermaid with 3-4 inches of water. They've always made it through the winter just fine - digging up the tubers is too much work for me :) . Hardy bog plants should have their crown sunk below the level of ice in the pond. Pickerel, rush, and Horsetail will be fine if you lower them in their pot to the bottom of the pond with the water lilies. Water iris, lizard's tail, and sweet flag can all be left at the bog level and will be fine. Hope this helps! Susanne

I'm new to this site. I put my pond in last summer and have 4 smaller goldfish. I have a small pond (5'x6') about 24-30" deep. I have iris, twister rush, canna (pretoria) and canna (RA) and pontederia(cordota) with hardy water lily that I added this year. I was wondering about overwintering them inside this year. It sounds like the lilies are easy and probably the iris can be left out by our gravel pit in shallow water? But I haven't a clue what to do with the rest. Help!!!! I tho't about putting them in the aquarium with the goldfish.
Thanks, Jantee

I'm going to do the experimental overwintering of the pond stuff somewhere in the house this winter.

Since I added lots of fish this summer, there are a lot more of them to overwinter, so last year's 'baby bass in a bowl on the kitchen counter' will not be practical for this year.

I'm thinking of a simple tub with a pump set up somewhere in the house. At first thought the family room is on the top of the list of possible locations.....

I've got several comet goldfish and some year old bass and lots of water hyacinth and lettuce to try and keep alive.

I pulled one of the water lettuces from the pond and stuck it in a tall clear glass vase, it's sitting on my kitchen counter in front of the window....

the three waterlilies, will probably live in the basement, drained and wrapped loosely in a cool spot.

Like I said, it's an experiment.

;)

I have done the "tub with a pump" in the house and it worked great. I did have plenty of water movement, various filters in different years, and fed sparingly.

Feed stores carry some VERY nice plastic livestock tanks that I used. Much larger, cheaper, and easier to handle that glass aquariums.

I wonder how something like a rubbermaid rough tote container would work, also. They come in large sizes, and are fairly inexpensive (

With a little side support, they'd be fine. Most of that kind of tub are too flexible to hold that much weight when you put water in and the sides bow out alarmingly. Don't know that they'd crack, but I wouldn't trust them not to either.

I do think that the small stock tank would be useful. The rubbermaid tub(s) would need to be big enough for volume, but small enough to retain their shape......
A stock tank could be another water garden next summer......

My son put in a couple crayfish and I tossed in a few snails in the pond over the summer, so it will be interesting to see how they have fared.

Then there's always the blue 45 gallon barrel that the baby bass lived in their first summer......

these thoughts need more pond-ering.....

I do have a small stock tank. I thot about putting the tender plants in some water in it. But wasn't sure if they needed much light in the winter and if I needed to put a small pond pump in it to move the water? I was planning on putting them in my basement which only has 6 small windows (not much light). I try to do things the economical way - u know, 'do it your self' routine. Thanks for all the comments.

I had been ponding for 7 years now and I tried saving the lettuce and hyacinths but it is not worth it. They are very cheap to buy and multiply very fast. I leave the rest like lillys, arrowheads and lotus and they come back. My pond is crystal clear DH already cleaned it for the fall and kois are growing healthy and happy. Belle

bellieg - do you just drop your hardy plants to the pond bottom for the winter? I also have plants (Canna, Iris, Corkscrew plant) in my "bio filter" waterfall area that are "planted" in the pebbles. Do I need to take these out for the winter and drop them to the bottom too?

Thanks!!!

I move all my plants from the waterfall and drop them in the main pond. For canna and iris plant them in the ground and then repot them in spring. Dh did all the fall cleaning last month and the water is crystal clear. Happy ponding!!! belle

Kenny

Don't drain your pond for the winter - it really isn't necessary. If you have fish, you will need to install heaters to keep a hole open in the top of the water to allow a gas exchange. Otherwise, without the gas exchange, you will lose your fish.

Some of the plants you mentioned are hardy to your zone and some are not. The iris -if they are the water iris variety should be fine. They are very hardy and just need to be cut back in the late fall. The unicorn plant tends to be less prolific - you may want to either bring it indoors or drop it into the bottom of your pond. I am half a zone warmer than you are and I lost one last winter and the other one was fine and I did not put mine into the bottom of the pond. The umbrella palm tends to be more a tropical plant as are the cannas. You may want to bring them indoors. I have done this with both the umbrella palm and the canna - make sure to keep them moist - these 2 plants will not survive outdoors with our winters. You can try to keep the water lettuce and the water hyacinths and it is next to impossible. Dont' know if it is a light thing or what, but many of us have tried to overwinter these plants inside and it just has not worked.


Hope this helps....

Gardengirl-- I am 3 hours away from you and my pond is 7 years old, runs 24/7 and i have all kois and they survive the winters. i do however put some kind of a thick material at the third lower part to protect them from the cold. I also have flat rocks for them to hide and they all do fine. My pond is netted and I had posted pictures several times. It is a very decent netting. Check it out when you get a chance. Back to the plants that survives winter I have water lillies, arrow roots, lotus, horse tails and cattails.EE's are potted and goes to the garage, cannas, irises all are potted and planted outside.Happy ponding !!!Belle

Thanks for the info Belle. I'm paranoid about my pond in the winter. I don't care about the plants - just my fish and frogs. My waterfall will run all winter so I'm hoping it doesn't get cold enough to freeze it. Our pond is about 24" to 28" deep so I think the Koi will be ok. How will I know when to stop feeding them? Do they just lay on the bottom in the winter? Even with the waterfall, should I have a heater to keep the top clear? I do have some netting I plan on placing over it for the winter - just to keep junk out.

Where in Va Beach do you live? I grew up in Norfolk and lived in Va Bch (near London Bridge & General Booth) & till about 10 yrs ago when we moved to Richmond. I have to say, I do not miss the base traffic!!

We live in Kempsville area and been here over 30+ years. Yes the base traffic is horrendous and was glad I did not have to drive to Norfolk. I worked at Cheasapeake but I retired 2 years ago and I love being retired. I do not have a heater on my pond and i also have a waterfall about 4 foot. the kois will survive the winter because we rarely have a harsh winter. I feed my kois till mid November. You will know when they do not want to eat. Perhaps you can start a thread about when to stop feeding. You will get a lot of response, there are a lot who has ponds. Belle

Thanks Belle. My husband grew up in the Kempsville area off of Susquehanna and went to Kempsville high class of '82. I do miss the less the harsh winters down there but it was always so cooooold with the water everywhere!! I have noticed that my koi don't want to eat all the time so maybe there they are winding down??? We'll see. Thanks for the info!! Jeannine

I tried for 2 years to over winter goldfish(feeders,comets) in my pond.Even bought a heater.By December they were all dead,both times.Yesterday I put them in a large tub with a pump on my sunporch.It rarely drops below 40 degrees.If it does I can open a door to the house to regulate temps.I have over wintered tender perennials out there for years with great success.I have read that fish should not be fed below 50 degrees,because they cannot digest their food.So don't feed them.Has anyone had success over wintering "black magic elephant ear".I tried one year kept in water and it just rotted.Tried drying out the roots and storing it but it never came back.With the tempertures dropping its time to do something.Its large and is a beauty.Sure would like to save it somehow.Any suggestions would be appreciated.Edge

'Black Magic' rarely forms a culm so you can't dry store it well.
I take mine in and basically treat them like houseplants.
The key is to get them used to drier conditions if you have them in the pond.
I pulled all my EE's out of their water gardens and water containers about 3 weeks ago.
They will be going indoors to the GH probably by week's end.
Once inside only water them if they are actively producing leaves and water sparingly.
The leaves will get smaller and smaller as they are produced.
At some point they will probably go dormant.
At that point quit watering for the winter.
Come Late Winter/Spring and warmer temps you will see them start to bud up.
Give them a little water and as much heat and sun as you can.
Don't water deeply until you see leaves start up.... this could take weeks so be patient.
Once the first true leaf is up start pouring it on......

Ric