Hi Everyone, i have just moved and brought my pond with me. It is kinda Kidney Shaped and has a Waterfall that is a gusher. My questions are:
1.I am in Zone 7B- Should I leave the waterfall and pump running all winter?
2.I have some Water Hyacinths and some are small about the size of a saucer, and then some that are huge. Atleast 15 inches around and the green stems are atleast 10 inches long. Should I bring them in for the winter and put them in a neat looking tub, with a small pump to be safe?
3. My water lily's- I do believe most of them are the hardy one's, But after paying so much for them I do not want to loose them. I have one called a Comanche and a few yellow one's and a dark pink one. What should I do. Do ya think if I put the water lily's in a tub under the house which is completely closed in and put a small pump in it, That they would be ok, or should I leave them in the pond. I just do not have more $$$'s to invest and want to be sure I save wht all I have!
4. Canna's- I have canna's that are just planted in rocks in my pond. For the winter should I pot them up and leave them in the water or does it matter.
5. Miniature Cattails-These are potted and just wanted to make sure these are Hardy. I know I'm asking a ton of ?'s but this will be the 1st winter for my pond and I want to make sure I do this right.
Any advice would be Greatly appreciated and I hate that I had to ask so much, but my pond is so important to me after moving it with me and catching all of those quick koi and all the babies, and all the comets, and even the huge snails, I made sure I left noone behind, even the frogs came along. And One more thing, is there anything to add to the water for winter? Just wanted to be sure I do not forget anything.
Thanks to all you Pond Genious's who have helped me so much in the beginning!!!!!
Traci S
Wintering Over ?'s
Traci, 7b is pretty warm, but you'll probably get at least one good freeze, yes? Your water hyacinths probably won't make it - whether you bring them in or leave them out. (Inside they won't get enough sunlight; outside they'll get too cold.) You could posssibly build a "hoop house" over the pond which will keep it a bit warmer, and maybe even frost-free, but no guarantees. Running the pump? I don't, here in 7a/6b, but you being a half- to full-zone warmer, I'd hesitate to tell you what is best.
Check the PDB for your water lilies by cultivar name - the common name indicates if they're hardy or tropical (although there have been a few errors, so you might also double-check here or through a Google search to confirm what you find.)
Someone else will have to advise you on overwintering tropical lilies; I only have hardy ones :) Ditto for the cattails (I'd think they're hardy, but I don't know for sure.) Cannas....hmmm. There are some expert Canna people here, so I'm sure they'll help you (I managed to kill my Thalia last year, so I'm not good for much advice.)
Traci, The cattails are hardy. The Colorado water lily is hardy, the others I don't know until I know their names. I overwinter my tropical lilies in a tub with flourescent lights over it. I did have success overwintering water lettuce and hyacinths under glass in a tub outside with two two hundred watt aquarium heaters in it but it wasn't worth the expense of the power so I just buy them in the spring and put them into compost. I have taken my cannas into the house and kept them as house plants for the winter as well as storing them in peatmoss for the winter too. Both ways worked well. One way to tell if a water lily is a hardy or a tropical is by looking at the bulbs. The hardy will be growing along near the surface of the pot with long roots down into the soil. The tropical is like a tulip bulbish thing that doesn't seem to ever crawl out of the pot. If you need more info just email me with your questions and I will help you out. Lani
Traci
I'm in zone 7a and I run my pump/filter all winter. It is usually mild enough temps that just the pump running keeps the pond from freezing completely. As lani said the cattails are hardy, I just submerge mine under the water for the winter, as well as many other pond plants.
I am in zone 6 and my mini and micro mini cattails are completely out of water in the winter and they make it fine. Last winter I had many in pots and they still survived the winter. If I lived in zone 7 I would probably leave my pump on for the winter just because it is pretty and the oxygen will be of benefit to the fish.
Traci I can't find you on Messenger. My search pulled up nothing. Email me when you are onboard and I will talk to you later. Lani
Traci, you don't have to run your pump here, you'll never get more than the slightest skimping of ice on your pond. In fact, I've only seen it once.
Thanks so much for al of the advice, but I have ran across some water hyacinths that are about 15 inches around and the leaves(tubers) or whatever you call them, are atleast 12 inches long. My Others were only about the size of a saucer and no where near as big and healthy. These I want to save so bad. I guess I could do an indoor pond, but Hubby would throw me out. Lani, if you read this explain this to me once more about the glass over them. I have toms and tons of flourescent lightss,(from 2-8 ft long! Would Plexiglass work, and then I could screw the light to the top of the plexiglass, and I have an aquarium(it is only a 10 Gal, but atleast there would be lights. As for canna's, Maybe if I put them in a huge tub I bought at walmart and filled it with peat moss and a mix of potting soil. I noticed the other day whenever I went to my other house, I had canna's growing in old dirt left over in the wheel barrow! Ok, Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I think all of my Water lily's are harde, but do I still bring them in, or let them die off and just come backkk up next spring? Do the leaves go away completely, or what? Please help a nervous Gardener who has dug 2 huge holes with plant shelves, lugged rockks 3 times and would ve deviiissstaated if I lost them! Thanks ! thanks! Thanks so much once again!!! P.S. I also have an 11 inch Algae Eater to bring in out of the pond, and he'll go in my 55 Gallon Tank, but boy has he helped with the Green aLGAE PROB'S I hear everyone talking about. He has helped keep the algae down and has been so happy out there, but it is time soon to bring him in. When the water temp gets to 78 he's going in my 55 gallon tank w/the other foot long algae Eater! His name is Mr "T" because when he holds up his fins on the top it looks just like a Mohawk!!!
Thanks Again,
Traci
This message was edited Friday, Sep 6th 10:30 AM
you don't have to bring in hardy water lilies in our zone. Sink them to the bottom of the pond (they should be already), they will lose their leaves. I have tropicals that come back, but not 100%
For the hyacinths I just used a rubbermaid Stock tank of 100 gallon size or you could use a half barrel, rubbermaid storage container or use your imagination. I planted about a third of the roots of the hyacinth into soil and put the pots on top of a cememt block so that the hyacinth was still at the surface of the water. On two pieces of 1 x 2 boards that reached across the tank I looped the cord of a SUBMERSIBLE aquarium heater of 150 watts around the board so that the heater was suspended so it wouldn't melt the tank. I put a few small fish into the tank to supply ammonia for the plants and some water lily fertilizer in the soil. Just use plain garden soil because the peat moss will just float and make a mess. If you have any tropical water lilies they can be put down into the bottom of this same tank fully leaved and they will survive. Put the tank outside in a wind sheltered area (wind will make the tank colder)SUNNY spot and then put a sheet of glass or an old window on top to keep the heat in and still allow the natural light to penetrate. I have never been able to keep hyacinths over inside the house. They seem to need more intense light and the nutrients that the small fish provide, help also. My hyacinth and water lettuce liked this greenhouse so much that they reproduced throughout the winter!
Your hardy lilies will die back when the water gets cold so then you just remove the dying leaves and if you are in zone 6 or lower you would sink the lily down to the bottom of the pond until spring at which time you move the lilies back up to the shelf. LMK if I can be of anymore help. Lani
Thanks to all of you! You are a lifesaver!
And Lani, Please IM me again!! Soon!
Traci