Do garden pond plants need winter care and preparation?

Yes! I suggest that you prepare your garden pond plants for winter and benefit next spring.

Lessen the task of winter preparation of garden pond plants.

The transition from autumn to winter brings a dramatic shift in conditions for your pond. As temperatures drop and the threat of frost becomes real, pond plants enter a period of dormancy. Proper preparation is not just about survival; it’s about giving them the best chance to thrive again next spring. Unprepared plants can suffer from root damage, freezing solid within their pots, or having their leaves rot and foul the pond water, creating a toxic environment for fish and other pond life. By taking these simple steps, you are actively protecting your living investment and ensuring a vibrant return to life as the weather warms.

NOTE: This article was written for the northern hemisphere – remember this wherever dates are mentioned.

NOTE2: Some areas of the United States do not allow certain of these plants to be sold or kept, as they have become invasive species in warmer areas of the country, such as Florida and California.

Handling and treatment of different garden pond plants.

1. Water Lilies:

Any diseased or mottled leaves of retiring water lilies should be given a gentle tug to part them from the parent water lilies tuber before they sink to rot below. To provide extra protection, you can lower the pots to the deepest part of your pond, below the freeze line. This is a crucial step for hardy varieties to ensure their rhizomes are safe from frost.

2. Floating Garden:

Pond plants like Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) must be taken indoors and kept in light, frost-free shade. Water Hyacinth can be potted up into a light, merely moist compost. When you are bringing in these floating garden plants, it’s also a good practice to thoroughly inspect them for any pests. Snails, aphids, or other insects might be hitching a ride indoors, so a quick rinse with a gentle stream of water can help remove unwanted guests before they infest your indoor space. Water Soldier (Stratiotes aloides) will sink to the bottom before the first frosts whereas Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) and Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) form nuts or buds that sink to the bottom to rise again the following year to form plantlets. Unfortunately, the Frogbit will fall prey to predatory snails and the Water Chestnut is unlikely to form nuts in our climate, so they need rescuing to a pan of muddy water in good time before the party is over, so they can do their thing in the warm protective ambience of a greenhouse or light shed. This selection of floating pond plants are very popular.

3. Marginals:

Pioneering marginals of the garden pond plants world like Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata), the Spearworts (Ranunculus flammula and R. lingua Grandiflora), and Parrots Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum syn. proserpinacoides) that seem intent on investigating the outer reaches of their universe should be cut back to home base; show these garden pond plants what you’re made of. Cutting back marginals is not just about tidiness; it’s a crucial step to prevent organic matter from decaying in the pond. As the leaves and stems die back, they release nutrients that can fuel algae growth in the spring. By trimming them now, you are reducing this nutrient load and helping to maintain a healthier, clearer pond ecosystem. The same goes for those garden pond plants like Hell’s Angels of the pond margins, the Reed Maces (Typha angustifolia and Typha latifolia), and any of those suspect ‘Reedy’, ‘Rushy’ looking garden pond plants things that don’t seem to do much, apart from grow. Feel around the baskets to see which plants have linked up in a firm vegetative bond. A bit of basket busting may be in order to sort them out. If the problem is not too bad, you can leave that little nightmare until spring.

4. Tender Marginals:

Tender marginals need to be removed wholesale. Canna lilies can be potted up and plunged into a bed in cold frames, otherwise keep these garden pond plants cool but frost free and dry along with all the other exotics you have been tempted to buy over the last few months. Once upon a time Arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’) and Lobelia cardinalis were treated with the same respect, but now our winters seem quite bearable to them. The more exotic looking yellow and spotty leafed Zantedeschia elliotiana, Z. pentlandii or the pink tinged Z. rehmannii should have been dried out since mid-July. Store these garden pond plants under greenhouse staging well above freezing. Bring them to life again in February.