Winterizing pond plants

Okay, I tried to research this on the web, where I found a pond supply page
listing water hyacinth and anachris as HARDY WINTER PLANTS--there go that
page's credibility--mine just turn to mush if I leave them in, and I'm in
zone 8!
I have zebra grass, horsetail, pickerel, cattail, dwarf papyrus, canna
lily (can you see I spend WAY too much this spring and want to save some of
my investment) and outside the pond elephant ear, ginger flower and banana
tree (which is probably already dead). I want to keep the bringing of
plants inside to a minimum if possible. I have read things here about
"sinking" plants, which I don't really understand--how do you sink a
plant--put rocks in the pot so it sinks to the bottom of the pond, or what?
Thanks for any help you choose to give!
Kirsten

kc wrote:

Okay, I tried to research this on the web, where I found a pond supply
page listing water hyacinth and anachris as HARDY WINTER PLANTS--there go
that page's credibility--mine just turn to mush if I leave them in, and
I'm in zone 8!

Anacharis is hardy to, iirc, Zone 4. Certainly to zone 5.

I have zebra grass, horsetail, pickerel, cattail, dwarf papyrus, canna
lily (can you see I spend WAY too much this spring and want to save some
of my investment) and outside the pond elephant ear, ginger flower and
banana
tree (which is probably already dead). I want to keep the bringing of
plants inside to a minimum if possible. I have read things here about
"sinking" plants, which I don't really understand--how do you sink a
plant--put rocks in the pot so it sinks to the bottom of the pond, or
what?

Exactly. I've tried various methods - one of the best is to take an old
pair of panty hose (remove wife first) put a stone in each toe, tuck plants
into the legs, tie top, drop in pond.

Zebra grass (probably - I expect there are a lot of plants going by that
name), pickerel rush, horsetail and cattail should be fine where they are
now. I don't know if any of the others would benefit from sinking. I
always brought papyrus/umbrella palm indoors - but that's in zone 5.
Sinking is really for semi-hardy plants. Those that will go dormant, but
can't actually be frozen.
--
derek

"kc" wrote in message
...
Okay, I tried to research this on the web, where I found a pond supply
page listing water hyacinth and anachris as HARDY WINTER PLANTS--there go
that page's credibility--mine just turn to mush if I leave them in, and
I'm in zone 8!

$$ My anachris lives over even the coldest winters. Hyacinths die in the
first good frost.

I have zebra grass, horsetail, pickerel, cattail, dwarf papyrus, canna
lily (can you see I spend WAY too much this spring and want to save some
of my investment) and outside the pond elephant ear, ginger flower and
banana tree (which is probably already dead).

$$ Better to look plants up on non-commercial sites before buying. The
papyrus, elephant ear, ginger and banana will most likely die if a good
freeze gets them.

I want to keep the bringing of
plants inside to a minimum if possible.

$$ Ditto. That's why I have so few tropical pond plants.

I have read things here about
"sinking" plants, which I don't really understand--how do you sink a
plant--put rocks in the pot so it sinks to the bottom of the pond, or
what?
Thanks for any help you choose to give!
Kirsten

$$ That just means moving the potted plants to a deeper part of the pond
where no freeze occurs. It doesn't work for tropicals where the winters
have freezing temps. I'm in zone 6 which can get some real cold temps and
never sunk my hardly plants. They come right through the winter just fine.
--
Reel McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"kc" wrote:

Okay, I tried to research this on the web, where I found a pond supply page
listing water hyacinth and anachris as HARDY WINTER PLANTS--there go that
page's credibility--mine just turn to mush if I leave them in, and I'm in
zone 8!

Here in Zone 6 with a pond that is 2 to 4' deep, I have had no problem
overwintering anacharis in the pond. Just to be on the safe side I keep
some in tubs in a greenhouse also. Mine is Anacharis [Egeria densa]. A
similar plant that I like better than anacharis is Hornwort
[Ceratophyllum demersum]. It is a native plant and is perfectly hardy.

I have read things here about
"sinking" plants, which I don't really understand--how do you sink a
plant--put rocks in the pot so it sinks to the bottom of the pond, or what?

I sink most of my marginal plants. During the summer they are sitting
in 8" azalea pots on benches on the sides of the pond. Then during the
winter, I set these pots on the bottom where the pond is 2' deep. The
pots have a layer of gravel on the top to prevent creatures from
burrowing into the soil. Then after the last chance of spring frost I
set the pots back on the benches where they are sitting in about 3" of
water. Plants I do this to a

Blue Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
Blue Rush Juncus inflexus
Bog Arum Peltandra virginica (native)
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis (native)
Chinese Lizard Tail Saururus chinensis
Dwarf Papyrus Cyperus papyrus
Forget-Me-Not Myosotis scorpioides (spreads)
Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris (native)
Monkey Flower Mimulus ringens (native)
Pickerel Weed Pontederia cordata (native)
Southern Blue Flag Iris Versicolor (native)
Sweet Flag Acorus calamus (native)
Water Willow Justica americana (native)
Yellow Flag Iris pseudacorus

The above are all hardy plants but I don't want the pots to freeze and
crack. For the tender plants I keep them in tubs in a cool greenhouse
that never freezes. They include:

Parrot Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum
Water Hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes
Water Cannas Canna flaccida (native)
Anacharis Egeria densa

I will probably start keeping the Forget-Me-Not in a tub in the
greenhouse since it spreads too much when it is submerged in the pond.
It loves being submerged and will start to spread over the bottom of the
pond.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

"Stephen Henning" wrote in message
news

Parrot Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum
=======================
I leave this one outside here in zone 6. It lives over every winter, even
in 18" tubs that freeze over (not solid). It goes underwater, if the water
is deep enough and turns a reddish color for the winter.
--
Reel McKoi or Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Koi-lo" wrote:

Parrot Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum
=======================
I leave this one outside here in zone 6. It lives over every winter, even
in 18" tubs that freeze over (not solid). It goes underwater, if the water
is deep enough and turns a reddish color for the winter.

The parrot feather that I don't get out does survive. The main reason I
keep some indoors with the tender plants is because it tends to grow too
much. I put all that I can find on the compost heap except that which I
put with the tender plants. Given that every sprout that touches the
water forms roots, it is invasive and something that I try to keep under
control. For-get-me-not is another one that class. Fortunately it
tends to stay in clumps and is easier to control.

Also, since zone 6 is the end of parrot feather's range there is a
chance that it might not make it through a severe winter unless it is
sunk under the water.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

"Stephen Henning" wrote in message
news

Also, since zone 6 is the end of parrot feather's range there is a
chance that it might not make it through a severe winter unless it is
sunk under the water.
============================
All true. It is a rampant grower. It may indeed die out over a severe
winter. From what I have seen as long as the water doesn't freeze too deep
the PF just keeps sinking below the ice in the warmer layers. If the pond
is too shallow it would probably freeze or overchill and die.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Stephen, thanks for all the great info--so the layer of gravel is enough to
"sink" the plants? I don't have the heavy aquatic soil in some of my
plants, so it seems they would want to "float" to the top--maybe that will
be a problem...
Kirsten
"Stephen Henning" wrote in message
news
"Koi-lo" wrote:

Parrot Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum
=======================
I leave this one outside here in zone 6. It lives over every winter,
even
in 18" tubs that freeze over (not solid). It goes underwater, if the
water
is deep enough and turns a reddish color for the winter.

The parrot feather that I don't get out does survive. The main reason I
keep some indoors with the tender plants is because it tends to grow too
much. I put all that I can find on the compost heap except that which I
put with the tender plants. Given that every sprout that touches the
water forms roots, it is invasive and something that I try to keep under
control. For-get-me-not is another one that class. Fortunately it
tends to stay in clumps and is easier to control.

Also, since zone 6 is the end of parrot feather's range there is a
chance that it might not make it through a severe winter unless it is
sunk under the water.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

"kc" wrote:

Stephen, thanks for all the great info--so the layer of gravel is enough to
"sink" the plants? I don't have the heavy aquatic soil in some of my
plants, so it seems they would want to "float" to the top--maybe that will
be a problem...

Just cover with small stones. I use terra-cotta pots with gravel in the
bottom and on top.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

Hyacinth can handle a freeze if their growth buds are not frozen. We cover
them with plastic and keep the water circulating. They are thus in 32
degree water, but not frozen. The plastic protects that much. About half
make it through the winter. In the spring we strip the dead leaves and let
them grow. The ones that died are mush by then. Fairly easy to tell which
is which.

Jim
"kc" wrote in message
...
Okay, I tried to research this on the web, where I found a pond supply
page
listing water hyacinth and anachris as HARDY WINTER PLANTS--there go that
page's credibility--mine just turn to mush if I leave them in, and I'm in
zone 8!
I have zebra grass, horsetail, pickerel, cattail, dwarf papyrus, canna
lily (can you see I spend WAY too much this spring and want to save some
of
my investment) and outside the pond elephant ear, ginger flower and banana
tree (which is probably already dead). I want to keep the bringing of
plants inside to a minimum if possible. I have read things here about
"sinking" plants, which I don't really understand--how do you sink a
plant--put rocks in the pot so it sinks to the bottom of the pond, or
what?
Thanks for any help you choose to give!
Kirsten