Oxygenator plants in winter

[arkay]

I usually take everything except lilies out of my very small pond. I'm wondering if it would be o.k. to leave in some oxygenating plants this year. I'd cut them back so they'd be below the frost line but they'd stay rooted & ready to grow in the spring. Really very small - 2 feet deep & 4 feet by 4 feet wide. Two goldfish that are 8 years old. In Brooklyn, NY. I use a doughnut-shaped heater to keep an airhole open but take out the pump so water on the bottom stays warm enough for the fish.
Thanks for any input.

 

[taherrmann4]

As long as the plants are hardy for your area I don't see why they wouldn't survive. Put them in the deepest part of the pond.

 

[sissy]

I had plants in my pond when it was 3 ft deep and they did not make it and it really was not that cold that year and after that is when I redid my pond and went 4 ft deep and slightly deeper in some spots .I guess they were not hardy enough and not sure but Brooklyn gets mighty cold ,but if you have a good heater it may work .If you have a place to keep some inside and leave some in the pond and see what happens ,this way you will not loose them all .Gosh I even lost my cold hardy banana and a couple of elephant ear plants last year and they were well protected .I'm hoping this winter will not be as bad .

 

[addy1]

Freeze warning for thursday night and chance of snow friday and saturday .............sissy..........don't hold your breath for a good winter. I just finished grooming my pond plants.

 

[sissy]

darn it no snow you see my pm addy and do you see that zekoodesk01 or is it just me

 

[addy1]

just saw it and reported it..................

darn it no snow you see my pm addy and do you see that zekoodesk01 or is it just me

lol they are saying snow sissy!

 

[sissy]

no snow no snow and clicking my red shoes together no snow no cold weather no no no

 

[addy1]

no snow no snow and clicking my red shoes together no snow no cold weather no no no

just a chance.................A chance of rain and snow showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Light east wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow showers before 8am, then a chance of rain showers. Cloudy, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

 

[sissy]

Just checked here and just says rain and thats all it better be and supposed to go down to the mid 50's during the day I guess it is getting to be time to protect my plants

 

[addy1]

Yep, I started on mine once we got back from florida, I knew the warm was leaving fast.

 

[sissy]

my lilies are still blooming but the screen is over them so will protect them

 

[arkay]

I have taken some plants in to root. My concern is that the ones in the pond could rot & poison the water for Ranger & Hawk (my fish: Ranger because he's "oranger" & Hawk because he has a red tail.)

 

[addy1]

I have taken some plants in to root. My concern is that the ones in the pond could rot & poison the water for Ranger & Hawk (my fish: Ranger because he's "oranger" & Hawk because he has a red tail.)

If it is not a lot of plants, and you have cut them back so there is not a lot of plant material to rot, you should be ok. With keeping the hole in the ice you are allowing gases to escape also.

 

[adavisus]

Where submerged aquatics struggle in freezy Winters is where light is blotted out long enough to stop the plants from photosynthesising long enough to kill them.

This will compound water quality problems beneath a continuous plate of ice. Brushing the snow off the ice daily should ensure good light continues to get through the ice

Cold tolerant aquatic plants will otherwise cope fine in a still pond, below the ice

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[arkay]

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll try it but trim them back farther than I have so far. We don't usually get long stretches of cold that would darken the surface for very long - that's really interesting input.