Over wintering pond plants, some of the common ones

[addy1]

From some net searching...

How to over winter plants:

Not really worth it, but you can put in a cool spot in your house with grow lights.


Water Hyacinth
Eichhornia crassipes
Zone 8
Flowers June, July, August
Lavender-blue flowers stand well above deep, waxygreen foliage. A must for your veggie filter. Long hanging roots make excellent spawning areas for fish. If you have trouble getting them to bloom, give them a boost in a soak of miracle grow for about a week, then put back in your pond.




Water Lettuce
Pistia stratiotes
Hardy to zone 10
Water Lettuce is a floating plant with thick, fleshy, light green ribbed leaves that form a rosette that looks like a small head of lettuce. Individual rosettes can range from 2" to 18" across, depending on variety.




Bog Lily
Crinum americanum
Zones 9-10
This tropical marginal grows 18" to 24" tall and has long, strap-like foliage. It has sweet, fragrant,white flowers with spider-like petals. Prefers full to part sun.




If you are cooler than the zone the plant is rated for:
Set-up a tub that you can suspend florescent lighting above, and save a small piece in a small pot, to keep overwinter. The plant will not grow much during the winter months, but in spring after the water has warmed in your pond, repot in a larger pot, warmer temperatures will trigger renewed growth


Floating Heart
Nymphoides peltata
Hardy to zone 6
The leaves on this plant look like those of a small water lily. Groups of small (1") star-shaped flowers above unique heart-shaped floating leaves.



Primrose Creeper
Ludwigia peploides
Zone 6
A beautifully dark green marginal plant with dainty yellow flowers, that helps to filter your pond with its excellent root system.




Parrot Feather
Myriophyllum aquaticum
Zones 5-11
Feathery foliage creeps out across pond. Excellent in fountains and falls.
Sun to part shade. Height: 6".
Spread: Running Water Depth: Moist to 5".




Water Clover
Marsilea mutica
Hardy in zones 6-11
Water clovers are from the fern family. The leaves of this water clover float nicely on the surface. Plant reproduces rapidly.




Bring indoors and treat like a houseplant, keeping moist for the winter season if colder than the zone the plant is rated for.

Umbrella Palm
Cyperus alternifolius.
Zones 8-10
Crowns of bright green grass-like leaves. Grows in clumps. Grows to 4-5 ft. In height. Up to 6" water depth.



Violet Stemmed Taroand other Taro's
Colocasia esculenta
Zone 8
Up to 4" tall.
Attractive dark violet/black stems contrast with bold huge green leaves. An outstanding specimen plants, best suited to medium to large ponds.



Water Zinnia
Wedelia trilobata
Zone 8
This plant is a great choice for marginal or as bog planting. It blooms profusely in the late summer. Its habit is typical of so-called "creeping" bog plants, thick horizontal stems with numerous branches, that grow in all directions across water or mud. Grows to about 6 inches in height, and does equally well in sun or shade. If planted as a marginal plant, the soil line should be no more than 2 inches below water level.

 

[addy1]

No special care is needed, If planted in the pond, and roots are in dirt or under water, can stay where they are


Corkscrew Rush
Juncus effusus spiralis
Hardy to zone 5
Growing height: 10-18". Planting depth: Top of the pot should be 0-6" below the water surface. Thrives in full sun to partial shade.
Thin green stems grow in a spiral giving this plant the corkscrew name.



Crystal Confetti Pennywort
Hydrocotyle sibthropiodes
Zones 6-11
Green Flowers Bloom in Summer. Grows in Sun to Full Shade
Height 1 Inch. Spread: Creeping Water Depth: Evenly moist to wet







Golden Club
Orontium aquaticum
Zone 5
It does well at the edge of garden ponds or in shallow ornamental pools. It is at its best in full sunlight in about a foot of water so the leaves can float, water lily-like. However, this plant can tolerate shade, and acidic conditions. About 18 inches tall, the leaves of golden club are dark, velvety bluish green about two to four inches wide and 6 to 12 inches long.



Pennywort
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Zones 5-11
Creeping, covering 0-1" water depth. Grows in Sun to Full Shade. Height 1 inch, Spread: Creeping, Water Depth: Evenly Moist to Wet



Water Forget-Me-Nots
Myosotis scorpioides
Hardy in Zones 5-9
Vigorous, trailing ground cover to four inches high blooms profusely in summer with tiny blue flowers. Can be planted in a waterfall. Spread 1 Foot




Arrowhead
Sagittaria latifolia
Zones 4-10
Arrowhead shaped foliage. Easy to grow. Clusters of white blooms mid-summer
to early-fall. Grows to 36"— 48" in height.



Dwarf Cattail ;Typha laxmanni, grows 3'-4' tall. Ideal for small ponds or a foreground display. The seed heads mature somewhat earlier than in larger species.
Mini Cattail;Typha minima, Very fine texture of this marginal ledge plant is accented in summer by the tiny marble-sized catkins. Leaves of this grassy plant are only 1/8" to 1/4" wide. Typha minima is by far the smallest of the Typhas. Its diminutive size makes it an excellent plant for foreground
planting. It is also an excellent choice for container water features. The catkins are also useful in dried flower arrangements.



Chameleon Plant
Houttuynia cordata
Zones: 4-11
Useful to hide or soften pond and waterfall edge. White flowers in summer.
Sun to part shade. Height: 6 to 10" Spread: Running
Water Depth: Moist to 2" Slow to emerge in spring.



Creeping Jenny
Lysimachia nummularia
Zone 4
Great plant for growing over rock edges into pond to hide liner. Will root at leaf nodes. Blooms intermittently throughout season, with yellow flowers.



Flag Iris
Zone 3
The most common native iris of the northeastern U.S. Typically blue or violet flowers.
They like a boggy soil but will also do well in a damp gardens. Excellent branching and numerous graceful flowers ensure a fine display.

 

[addy1]

Horsetail Rush
Equisetum hyemale L.
Zone 3
You can identify this plant by the upright, hollow, jointed cylindrical stems, which have ashy grey bands at the joints. This tall plant is hardy in zones 3-10, can tolerate sun to shady conditions, but must be kept moist at all times. It is one of the plants that can tolerate water up to 12 inches above the soil line, so it would do well in ponds with fluctuating water levels



Lizard’s Tail
Saururus cernuus
Zones 4-9
Heart-shaped foilage. 6" white bloom spikes are fragrant and
resemble the shape of a lizard's tail. Grows to 24" in height. Up to 4"
water depth.



Marsh Marigold
Caltha palustris
Zone 3
Marsh Marigold is often the first plant to show signs of life in the spring. This native has bright yellow, 1-2” flowers that usually appear in April, and will bloom till mid-June. Marsh Marigold is a very easy plant to grow. Once the weather turns hot, Marsh Marigold usually dies back and goes dormant. This plant should be kept moist all summer long to ensure it will return again next spring.



Pickerel Rush
Pontederia cordata
Hardy to zone 3
This marginal does well in most any climate. It grows in up to 6 inches of water and spreads quickly if given room to grow. It is a sturdy plant and a good bloomer.



Sweet Flag
Acorus calamus variegatus
Hardy zones 4-11
Growing height: 18-30" Planting depth: Top of the pot should be 0-4" below the water surface
Thrives in full sun to partial shade Vertical green and cream iris-like foliage



Thalia
Thalia dealbata
Zones 6-11
Tall, broad-leafed plant features graceful, flowering stems, held well above its 3-4' tall foliage.
Spreads easily. Native American Plant. Grows upright to 6'. Plant in 4 or more hours of sunlight
in 0-12" of water. Purple flowers bloom in summer.




Variegated Water Grass
Glyceria Aquatica variegata
Hardy to zone 4.
A colorful, early emerging grass, up to 3 feet tall, accented by creamy white
stripes tinged in pink in the spring. This perennial grass caqn be grown in
bogs or in flowing water in depths up to 6 inches above soil line, and is
good for stabilizing stream banks. Can also be grown outside the pond.



Variegated Water Parsley, Flamingo Parsley
Oenanthe javanica 'Flamingo
Hardy to zone 4.
Leaves variegated white, green with pink margins. Water is another great plant for vegetative filters. Some people call it water parsley. It grows very fast when rooted in gravel and consumes many nutrients.
Can take some shade.



Water Hawthorne
Aponogeton distachyus
Zones 3-10
Exceptionally fragrant flowers appear in cool waters, spring and fall.
Leaves are elliptical and float on water.
May go dormant in summer in warm water.



Aquatic Mint
Mentha aquatica
Zones 5-11
Will root in soil if it grows out of the pond. Heavy scent.

 

[addy1]

Over wintering tropical lilies

I overwintered a few tropicals, by putting the oil pan with kitty litter clay in a tub of water, stuck it in the basement and sort of forgot about them.



From victoria-adventure.com

If you live north of USDA zone 9, you will have to overwinter your tropical lily out of the water. As your lily grows throughout the season, it may multiply and become two or more plants. Repot these lilies into different containers, or at least move them away from each other in the same pot. This will prevent the lilies from forming one large mass of tubers that will have a great tendency to rot.
When fall approaches, you should stop fertilizing your tropical lilies. This will help slow their growth and prepare them for overwintering as tubers. After your first frost or two, go digging into the pots (I know it will be cold!) or pull the pot out of the water. Feel around in the soil and find all of the hard nut-like tubers. You will find them just below the crown of the plant. They will normally range from the size of an acorn to the size of a golf ball, but may be as small as a pea or large as your fist. Take all of the tubers out of the soil and rinse them thoroughly with a strong jet of water. Trim off any remnants of roots or stems from the tuber. Many people store them in plastic bags, but rodents can eat through the bags. I suggest storing them in glass jars. Just be sure they don't get knocked off the shelf and break. They must be stored in damp (not wet) peat, sphagnum moss, or sand. The temperature must stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Check on them once a month throughout the winter to be sure they don't dry out. Spray them with water if they have become dry.
In the spring, when the water temperature reaches 60 degrees F, replant the tubers in fresh, fertile soil. Make sure you put the tuber just at the top of the soil surface. The pointy side goes up, round side down. If possible, elevate the pot close to the surface so it will get more sunlight and warmer water. The tuber will set out leaves and eventually the plant will set out roots. When the plant is strong, separate it from the tuber. You can turn the tuber in the soil so that it will send out the next plant in a direction different than the first. Each tuber can put out several plants.



The tropicals require warmer temperatures than do the hardies to bloom, thus making them a bit more difficult to grow. After three or more weeks of temperatures above 80 degrees, these flowers will finally start to open up and bloom. Once they do, they fill the ponds with their colorful blossoms throughout the summer months and well into fall. After the hardies have gone dormant, the tropicals will stay in bloom for several weeks longer, often until the first frost. During the winter months, however, they go dormant and die

 

[addy1]

Hyacinth and water lettuce:

Floating plants such as water hyacinth and water lettuce can be overwintered indoors or in the greenhouse, but please be sure you can provide the following:

[size="+2"]·[/size] Water temperatures over 60° - preferable in the 70's
[size="+2"]·[/size]10 - 12 hours of light per day
[size="+2"]·[/size]Some people have had luck with adding small amounts of liquid fertilizer to the water, when less than 10 hours of light are available (probably to control algae).
[size="+2"]·[/size]Adding soil to the container increases the rate of success.​

 

[addy1]

Overwintering Hardy Water Lilies

After the first frost or when you notice the stems and pads turning brown, pull your hardy lily containers out of the water and trim the foliage back to about 2" over the crown.

Wintering Hardy Lilies in the Pond

If your pond will NOT freeze to the bottom you can choose to let your hardy lilies overwinter in the pond. After trimming, lower the container into the bottom of the pond. Remember you do not want the tuber to freeze, so make sure you place it below the freeze line!
In the spring (when the water is consistently at least 55 degrees or when new growth appears) pull the container back up to the desired growing height and resume your monthly feedings.

Wintering Hardy Lilies Indoors

If your pond WILL FREEZE to the bottom, you must overwinter your hardy lilies indoors. After trimming, take the container to a cool dark place such as a basement or cold storage area. Your goal is to keep the lily as cold as possible without letting it freeze.
Keep the plant damp all winter. One way to accomplish this is by placing damp newspaper over the top of the container and around stems then loosely covering it with a garbage bag. (If your lily is not in a container, wrap the plant in the damp newspaper and place in a partially open garbage bag.)
Once a week discard the newspaper, check the plant for signs of mildew or rot and place fresh damp newspaper. Always make sure the garbage bag is loose because the plant needs air.
In the spring (or when the water is consistently at least 55 degrees), return the lily to the pond at the desired growing height and resume your monthly feedings.



Hardies come in a variety of colors, ranging from red, salmon, pink, white, yellow, orange, peach and nearly black. There are some varities – called changeable water lilies – that change their color over their bloom period (of three to four days). Hardy water lilies are the first of the lilies to come into bloom in the spring. Once the water temperature holds steady at 60 degrees, they will begin to bloom, spreading their pads across the pond with their blossoms eventually floating on or just above the water’s surface. These shallow-rooted plants need plenty of room to grow and spread up and out across the pond.
In the early spring, these fresh lily pads will begin to emerge on the water’s surface. Many of the lilies will be in bloom by mid- to late-spring. They bloom throughout the warm-weather months, eventually becoming dormant in the fall. These are perennial plants, meaning that as long as the rhizome – the underground stem that sends out roots and shoots – does not freeze, the plant will survive through the winter and bloom again in spring. Come winter, in areas with no frost, they will continue to grow, however their growth will certainly slow down a bit. Year-round blooming is possible in frost-free zones. In areas with frost, however, the lilies survive through the winter only if they are below the pond ice.

 

[Pond Boy]

Nice tutorial addy.. Thanks!

 

[j.w]

Very well done addy and very good info

 

[Bruddaman]

Thank you so much for all this wonderful information!

 

[addy1]

From the net: (forgot about overwintering lotus)

Over winter hardy lotus, down to zone 4-5

You just leave them in the garden and they are usually quite hardy. Colder gardens need to follow some of the instructions below.
If you are concerned about them or you are growing them in pots, try these techniques.
Techniques


After the top growth has been lightly frosted and the plant is dormant, cut back the foliage to pot level and put the pot into the deepest part of the pond. It will overwinter there – always assuming the pond doesn’t freeze to the bottom – quite nicely. In the spring, return it to its regular position in the shallow section of your pond.

If your pond is shallow or if you’re growing a lotus in a container then your objective is to keep it cool and dormant without freezing it solid.
Cold Cellar


With container grown plants, I’ve overwintered lotus in a shallow tub in a cold cellar where the temperatures did not go below freezing (or if they did, they thawed out immediately). The odd bit of freezing normally won’t hurt them if they are dormant; the bigger problem is in cycles of freezing and thawing (turns them a little mushy). So a steady, cool temperature is ideal. Think cold cellar or attached garage that doesn’t freeze – that kind of place.

You also do not want to let them dry right out – hence sitting the tub in a shallow pan of water. The soil will be damp constantly.

 

[CountryEscape]

Wow, great info, Addy! Thanks so much. This is just what I was wondering about, and you answered my questions about probably 90% of my plants, maybe all of them! I will get pen and paper later on this evening and write down what I need, so I can easily find it when cold weather comes. I had purchased a few water plants at Menards, and hated that most of them did not have Zones on them, only depth of water. Glad you provided the info I needed.

 

[addy1]

Just mark the post, so you can come back to it, I think there is that option watch the thread or something like that. It is my guide too when winter comes. Almost all of my plants are new this summer.

Glad you all like it..........hope there are no glaring mistakes.

 

[CountryEscape]

Addy, I just did my winter list, and will go out and bring in only the Elephant's Ear and Taro tonight, as it's supposed to get down to 36 tonight. Stupid IL weather. LOL Anyhow, the only plants that I'm not sure about are: Star grass, which I'm pretty sure you have, since you named it when I posted a picture, and I never did figure out my tiny blue flower, but since it's in the same big pot with the Thalia and Hibiscus, I will just leave it and bring that whole contraption into the garage, but they can stay out in the bog until it gets colder. Thanks again for all your hard work in creating this thread. I really appreciate it!

 

[taherrmann4]

Country I leave my elephant ears out until the frost zaps them and the leaves begin dieing back then dig them up. We are getting down to 36 tonight as well but supposed to be back around 80 by mid week.

 

[CountryEscape]

OK, T'Mann, but I figured tonight was going to do it, so thought I would try to see if I can grow them (elephant ear and taro) in the house like house plants while they are still alive.
And, I went to pull the umbrella palm, you know, the one that I bought this summer at Menards, in a tiny pot, maybe 4" tall 3" square?????? OMG!!! The roots were unbelievable! I could not even find the pot until I got it finally out of the ground! I has a root system that went way down in the gravel, and it was hanging on. I had to reach under all the way around and break off or pull the roots to even have a chance to get it out of there. It fits snugly in a 5 gal bucket, to give you an idea of how much it has grown. It will be a house plant, too, if it will live through my one cat that never goes outside, and she thinks it is for her to chew on! UGH! Oh well, I doubt it's harmful to her, she probably will barf later though. :-(
I already took the few pitiful looking hyacinths into the garage and have them under a florescent light, and OMG, are they doing great! I also put the dwarf water lettuce in another bucket under the same light (12 hours of light per day) and they are looking really good, too. I'll eventually move them to the basement, I assume they will not like it when the garage gets cold, but for now they are fine. I will let you all know if the hyacinths bloom. I don't expect them to, but never know. If they bloom, they may get moved to another part of the house to I can enjoy them, rather than in the basement.