Last years plants

[haver79]

Ok so I have a clump of parrots feather that I left in the pond. It has sunk to the bottom and I'm wondering if I should get it out or will it come back to life? Fish are liking it right now and hiding in it.
I also have a corkscrew rush that started the winter just floating around the pond (still in the pot) I had removed it from my skippy and just plunked it all in the pond. It was frozen in the snow for quite awhile and now it is on the bottom of the pond.
Not sure if I'm doing more harm then good leaving those plants in the pond.
Also I have water clover from last year among the rocks in shallow water. I assume I should trim all that dead stuff off???
Any advice appreciated.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

If the stuff was frozen in ice it probably wont make it, though I have seen plants do crazy things. I'd personally cut back the dead stuff, put the plants back at their correct depths and wait and see if new growth appears. The worst thing that can happen is they don't grow and then you can toss em.

 

[Troutredds]

I tried to winter-over twenty or so water hyacinths in a heated garage, by a south facing window. They looked good for months with supplemental feeding and small water changes, but all died by January. This water calla lily has done well in there though:

 

[addy1]

My parrots feather, frozen in ice, has come back every year. I will check to see if I am see buds tomorrow. Good old water mint, frozen in ice has nice green buds on it.

 

[haver79]

Troutredds your calla lily looks very healthy.

I will leave the parrots feather on the bottom till temps warm up some more. The corkscrew rush not sure about.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My parrots feather, frozen in ice, has come back every year.

How deep do you put them and how deep does the ice get?
With the size my pond is, I have hardly any room to move plants deep, and only enough room to bring one or two more indoors, so I might have to keep some shallower this coming winter, which would be a big relief if they have a chance of surviving.

 

[addy1]

How deep do you put them and how deep does the ice get?
With the size my pond is, I have hardly any room to move plants deep, and only enough room to bring one or two more indoors, so I might have to keep some shallower this coming winter, which would be a big relief if they have a chance of surviving.

The parrots feather in in the small stream ponds, and in the big pond. The stream "ponds" it is in are around a foot deep, 2 feet or so wide, it is where the stream does a switch back on its way down the hill. Those little ponds freeze up pretty hard (no fish) The parrots feather is usually laying on the surface of the water and down the stream. So far it has come back every year, even when frozen in the ice.

I just walked down the stream to check it for you, the stuff right at water surface, i.e. it was frozen over winter is budding.

Boy do I have a mess to clean up before I turn on the stream. Tons of deer poo, branches leaves from the cypress they inhaled, plant parts from the plants they ate. Sure glad I used tough liner for the stream and double layered it.

 

[Nepen]

The parrots feather in my nature pond, which got frozen to its roots, is now budding. My nature pond is probably 6-10 inches deep)

 

[addy1]

Yep that stuff is darn tough. I watched it one winter, nice ice cube of parrots feather, beautiful green frozen solid, figured it was dead. It melted and starting growing again.

 

[haver79]

Good to know Addy and Nepen. I have hopes now that plant may have survived. For now I will let my clump of parrots feather lay on the bottom for the fishies. We are suppose to be in the 30s for the next 5 days or so.

 

[addy1]

I found, after the first winter, leave them all alone give them a chance to grow. Once it is warm enough they should have grown, it is apparent that they are dead, then yank the plants. Some always surprise me.

 

[HARO]

You should bring the corkscrew rush up into the shallows once the ice is off your pond. They will rot in deeper water. Parrot feather is so tough, the Ontario gov't has placed it on the list of plants that pose a possible danger to our waters!
John