Bog plants - winter

[oldmarine]

In my pond and I have Pickerelweed, Parrot feather, Horsetail rush, and several other hardy varieties of local or native wetland Rush. The water lillies I'm not concerned about because they weathered the winter last year quite well.

Which of my bog plants do I need to winter indoors like my garage?

 

[DrDave]

I'm not familiar with the others but the parrots feather will need to come in if you get below 32 degrees F.

 

[anitapond]

Oldmarine, what USDA zone are you in?

 

[oldmarine]

I'm not sure what Zone I'm in, but I'm Tacoma 30 miles south of Seattle. I've looked a few zone charts, and they all confuse me as to what zone I live in. I guess I'm in to many zones.

 

[oldmarine]

Thanks for your input. Again this coming winter I will be using a water heater in my pond to keep the water temp just above freezing. So I was wondering if I would be able to keep all of my bog plants in the pond?

 

[anitapond]

Oldmarine, here's a link to find your hardiness zone. Just enter your zip code.
http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi

Any hardy plants for your zone will do just fine in the pond as long as the roots don't freeze. Just remember to prune the foliage off and then sink them in the pond. Pickerel weed, parrots feather and most rushes are hardy to zone 4.

Have you used a heater in your pond in past winters? I'd be curious as to how this worked for you and what type you have.

 

[oldmarine]

Thanks AnitaPond,

It looks like Tacoma is in zone 7. According to the chart, we get temps down to 5+/10+ F. I have lived here most of my life, and I don't remember ever getting down to 5 degrees F. It's hard to say who came up with these charts. That's why they confuse me, I'm sure some chart maker is misinformed. Thanks for the help anyway.

I have been using a 150 watt submersible aquarium heater (s.a.h.) in my ponds over the last several winters. I started to a s.a.h. in my first above ground tub type fish pond, because I knew that it would really freeze up without some assistance of heat. Now my pond is a 365 gallon inground pond with a 27 gallon above ground boi-filter. So in addition to the 150 watt s.a.h., I'm adding a 300 watt s.a.h. to the boi-filter when the temps start to get near freezing. I always set the heater temps to keep my pond water temp just above freezing. I like the temps to be in the low 40 degree F range.

 

[anitapond]

Thanks for the info, Oldmarine. I'm not too familar with Tacoma. Do you get any snow? I'm wondering if the heater would work for my pond. It's about 500 gallons, in ground. I'm in zone 5 in Lake Erie's snow belt. We get TONS of snow and wind. What do you think?

 

[oldmarine]

Hi,

We get snow here in Tacoma a couple times a year, but usually melts off by noon. This last winter was an exception, in December we had snow up to a couple feet in areas for several days. You talk about a ton of paople that don't know how to drive in the snow................

If you are really considering a heater for your 5000 gallon pnd, I would suggest consulting a commercial outfit that specializes in large pond heatres or de-icers. I'm quite sure someone here will also respond and give you some better advice about warming your pond in the winter.

 

[anitapond]

I wish my pond was 5,000 gallons! Please re-read post - 500 gal.

 

[oldmarine]

Oops, sorry. I wished I had the room for a 5000 Gllaon pond too. My yard is small, and to many gas, water, and sewer lines running through it.

 

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

I had mentioned this DIY pond heater in another post, but I finally found the web site. A lot less electricity than a commercial pond heater....
http://www.wernersponds.com/deicer.html

 

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

Here's another site with a picture of the completed item as the first one doesn't have a picture. (In case you are a visual learner like me)

http://bickal.home.mchsi.com/

 

[oldmarine]

Great information. I can't help but to wonder if a inline heater is manufactured for ponds? One that is not visible after a pond is constructed.

 

[oldmarine]

Just found some inline (pump water through) heaters that range from $533.00 to $2200.00. They can be found at www.koienterprize.com and www.thefind.com/pets .

Just a little out of my price range, but I'm sure the heater systems of that quality would be an outstanding addition for the owner of a large pond that didn't want their pond to freeze over in the winter