Overwintering Pond Plants in North Texas (zone 7-8)

14 years ago

This is my first year with my pond and I like many others have questions on overwintering. My first and most important question is when do you start taking overwintering action? At what temperature do you bring things in? We're in the mid-forties now at night and I thought perhaps I need to get items like the papyrus in? On the rest do you wait until they start to wilt and brown or do you need to take action before that happens?

This is what I have:

In pots around my pond I have:

Elephant Ear

Chameleon Plant

Calla Lilies

In the pond I have:

Corkscrew Rush

Hardy Lily

Tropical Lily

Assorted Taros

Pickerel Reed

Dwarf Papyrus Palm

Anachris

Bog Lily

What can I leave in the pond? And what needs to come in?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

horton
14 years ago
equinecpa,

Take these inside.

Elephant Ear
Chameleon Plant
Calla Lilies
Tropical Lily
Assorted Taros
Dwarf Papyrus Palm

Sink in pond or leave in place around pond.

Corkscrew Rush
Hardy Lily
Pickerel Reed
Bog Lily

You could check out the linked site below for more information about over-wintering pond plants.

"Horton"

Here is a link that might be useful: Winterining Pond Plants
equinecpa
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the useful link. I'm still not sure of when to do this? I imagine the tropicals must come in before the frost? Everything else can be sunk when it begins to die off for the year?

When I bring in the dwarf papyrus, taro etc...do I leave them in the same pots and just keep them moist and in a sunny location? They are mostly in pea gravel. I was thinking of leaving them in their pots and then finding something like a shallow rubbermaid container, putting a couple of inches of water n it and standing the pots in it?

I think I'll try pulling the calla bulbs and storing them in the fridge in newspaper.
Related Discussions
Novice Gardener wants to start another bed...what to plant Zone 8
Q
Comments (9)
My climate is pretty similar to yours, though sometimes your heat is a few degrees hotter than mine. Cowpeas will come up, bloom, and bear a crop in about 8 to 10 weeks. You will get 3 or 4 pickings over about a two week period, and then they will be finished. Because of this, I plant "patches" of them about a month apart until mid July (24 square feet of them, sowed 4 inches apart feeds 4-6 people with each picking). One caution, deer adore them, so provide protection, especially in late summer when the deer get tired of the stuff they're eating out in the wild. The Southern Living Garden Book says that blackeyed peas do better in California than in the southeast. But the pink eye purple hulls will do great for you. I love Zipper Creams too. Basically, any type of crowder should do well for you. Last year, I planted pole beans in early August and they bore very well until first frost in mid November. Any sooner than that and it might be too hot for them, depending upon the variety. (I planted Louisiana Purple Pod Snaps) It will be easier to get germination in the heat if you cover the row with fabric and keep it wet. With our heat, it's very difficult to keep uncovered soil consistently moist. Once they germinate, uncover them and keep them watered. They'll like a good mulch too. Next year, I have decided that my early crop of snap beans is going to be something that is heat resistant, like Rattlesnake beans. It got so hot so soon this year, that my Fortex beans quit producing after only 3 pickings. As the above posters said, July is a good time to start fall crops: collards and cabbage seeds can be started in pots (in dappled shade) in mid July. By mid August, you can direct sow broccoli, turnips, rutabagas, carrots and beets. By early September, you can sow kale and mustard greens, and set out your collards and cabbage plants. Since your climate is somewhat hotter than mine, you may be able to get a couple more weeks on these dates.
...See More
Brugs in Tx. Hill Country (zone 7-8) ?
Q
Comments (29)
hehehe....I'm starting to feel like I'm in a receiving line at an very big Italian wedding! This forum looks deceptively obscure and small, but step in the door and....MEET the inlaws! "This is my cousin Vinny. He's a Grimaldi man all the way...he'll set you up". Okay, my giggles are subsiding enough to type on... Phoenixryan, thanks for the welcome. And I really appreciate you confirming that Kartuz is a reliable grower, cuz that was just a shot in the dark. And I also appreciate knowing about the eBay grower/venders. Someone else mentioned them in this thread but I thought they were folks from this forum. So now I know they are eBayers. Well any addict will tell ya...always good to have sources...day or night. Hi Daniella (or is it Daniel?)! Maybe we should start a 12 step program for pre-brugs. However your enthusiasm is dangerously contagious and it might backfire. And yes we are all one...and I'm sure to become color blind. Speaking of enthusiasm... I went to the nursery today and the woman attendant led me through a maze of plants in the greenhouse and finally stopped at the one brug plant which apparently was left like an orphan to fend off the winter alone. I was still on a brug high from my conversations in this forum and was speaking about them in hushed, breathless tones of awe. The attendent seemed perplexed at all the fuss. I asked when they were planning to get more in and she said it was not really on their plant list, but they sometimes took them when growers had them available. She said they weren't big money makers for growers. I must have gasped because she raised her eyebrows and began backing away. I'm guessing she thought I was one of those folks who claimed to see the image of Mother Mary in a leaf or cracker....as my reverence for this mere 'plant' seemed vastly disproportionate to her own borderline disinterest. See what you guys did! I need to get a grip! Anyway, thank you again for all the help and welcomes. My name is Dragonfly Wings and I've been a brug addict for two days, one hour and 36 minutes....
...See More
Planting Certain Figs in ground for zone 7
Q
Comments (17)
Thanks so much! I think many of the previous posters trickled away when Gardenweb became Houzz. I did prefer it before, but it still works! Eboone, can you direct me to instructions on winter protection? There's little I wouldn't do for my figs! Gary, my plants were in pots from 2011 until fall 2017 due to moving around a lot. Sal's did fine, Both Hardy Chicago did fine until I planted it in the ground (one of 2 died which I can't explain, but the remaining one is doing fabulously.) In my last real home in Maryland (also 7A), I had Sal's in the ground and Celeste. Sal's was amazing, despite significant die-back in the winters I had plenty of amazing figs. Celeste grew large but never produced figs before I moved away. My deceased plants this spring are one HC, Conadria (which was given to me and had never thrived), and a Brown Turkey, also a gift, and also didn't like my handling. I have been pinching the fruit babies for the last 6 years because I didn't want the trees wasting energy, but they died back anyway. This year, Sal's and Hardy Chicago are producing figs, especially HC, but I'm still pinching many in the hopes the plants will stabilize and produce good crops next year. I've have had 2-3 Celestes die on me since 2011. I keep trying, because I've heard such good things about Celeste, thinking they just don't like being in pots. The one I bought and planted in the ground last year is alive....but I can't really comment beyond that. My Violette de Bordeau has struggled in the pot....most springs I thought it was dead but it rallied. I've had it for 4-5-6 years? It was one of the first I planted in the ground last year in the hope of saving it. It came back much stronger this spring. Still nothing like Hardy Chicago or Sal's, but at least I think I don't worry about it dying anymore. LSU purple was new last year, and it survived---barely. Eboone, thanks for the suggestions! I'll start looking around! By the way, can either of you tell me when is the season to make cuttings? I used to root them in damp paper towels with good success, but I don't remember what time of year I did it, and the last batch I tried did very poorly.... Thanks so much! Ann
...See More
Planting rosemary in-ground in Zone 7
Q
Comments (17)
Granite....beautiful picture, BTW. How inspired to use fresh herbs in your bouquet, corsages and headdress. There is a lot of folklore that goes along with rosemary, and it was an herb traditionally given on the wedding day for remembrance. Not to be morbid, but also rosemary was buried with the dead so as not to be forgotten by the the living. As far as I know, talking with my neighbor who has the beautiful rosemary bush in-ground, he did nothing special to his plant. When I asked him about the snow (not a lot) we had that past winter, he said he just went out and brushed the snow off the plant. Like it was no big deal. Judging from the look of his plant and it's sturdy wooden, bushy stalks, he's growing the "BBQ" variety. Right now, still, all my rosemary is in containers and doing very well and do have excellent drainage. They are the least watered of all my herbs, and seem to like it that way. I have Miss Jessup, Gorizia, Arp, the "BBQ" type (my oldest) and one I'm not sure of. It's the one you find in grocery stores around the beginning of the growing season....has the shape of a Christmas tree. That type of rosemary turned out to be the most difficult one for me and I will never buy another one of them. They look so beautiful in the store...healthy, tall, lush and green. But they're so root bound. After getting it home and removing it from it's little 8" pot that I knew it wouldn't survive in, I really had to work at the root system to free up the roots. Hard as a rock. I replanted it, and it did well for a short time, but soon started giving me problems. Part of it dying out, other parts yellowing. It always looked like a sick rosemary plant. I thought it never stood a chance. But right now, after last year, it's finally taken hold and it growing beautifully, with new and long healthy resinous shoots everywhere. I couldn't be happier that it ended up surviving. I actually had to, at one point, snip it off at the top, as it was "dead" at it's tip. So needless to say, it no longer has the Christmas tree shape. I have to say, I never expected it to survive but refused to chuck it and just adopted a "wait and see" attitude. I'm glad I did. It's been mentioned here on the GW, and I believe it to be true, that rosemary does thrive on a certain amount of neglect. It just needs to do it's thing. It needs lots of sunlight, and good drainage. The soil NEVER needs to dry out, but (for me, container-wise), when it gets to feeling like it's getting close to being "dry", I will give it water enough to just slightly drip out the bottom, and that's it. And then I leave it alone. And depending on the heat and the rain, it may be a week before I get back to giving it more water. Seems to be the way for my rosemary, as they're all doing wonderfully. And, I do harvest from all of them all the time. I do agree that not all Zone 7's are created equal. Here, snow may or may not come in winter. The ground may never even freeze. It's rare it does, but it does happen. And yes, all rosemary's aren't created equal either. Some are hardier than others. I think they types I have chosen are the best for my zone. But again, the Christmas tree type....never again. They look beautiful in the store, but are the touchiest and hardest to keep alive, IMHO. I would really love to plant all of them outside in-ground, but I have to admit, I love having them indoors during the winter and they seem to love the spot I have chosen for them. And even given the fact that they're all in the biggest pots imaginable, I know they'll never reach their full potential in containers. But that's OK. They provide me with a bounty of rosemary to cook with and even enough (along with my cilantro, thymes, mints and basils) to sell at the Farmer's Market if I wanted. LOL. But I'm happiest when I give them away to neighbors.
...See More
horton
14 years ago
equinecpa, sorry I meant to address the "When question".
I have taken my semi-tropical plants in already.
I always think, because of all the winterizing of the pond etc, "do the plants now, before it becomes miserably cold outside and the job becomes a chore that becomes a PIA!"

I keep some of my Taro in their pots, the others I split, if needed and re-pot them.
Some I leave dry in their pot all winter, in a cool area of the basement, the others I keep under fluorescent lights in a warmer part of the basement [50/60Â°F] along with the other semi-tropical plants, i.e, Papyrus and African Sword. I give the plants under the light water once a week to keep them moist, they produce a few leaves all winter.
Some folks have them as house plants, it is up to the individual.

Have a can of insect spray handy, even if you change the soil [or pebbles in your case], there is a big chance you will bring in some little flying critter's eggs that will hatch over winter.
Once you have your pots situated in the rubber maid container,if you place a clear plastic leaf bag over the plants, held up with some type of frame to make a plant tent. You can de-bug the plants with a spray of the bug killer. Cut a couple of slits in the top of the plastic tent to allow condensation to escape.
If you decide to keep the clear cover over the plants make sure that the plants are getting enough air circulation within the plastic tent or they could rot.
Hope this helps,
"Horton"
equinecpa
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the help. I decided I'd better get a move on because the water is awfully cold...even if the plants don't mind I sure don't really like playing in it now. I'd like to minimize what I have to do later when it may be even colder.

My tropical lily is still blooming so I'll let her continue on for a while longer but the rest can probably be sunk now.

Thanks again
hardin
14 years ago
eauincpa, I live in southern Oklahoma and I have already pulled my plants that are not hardy. For now, I am leaving the hardy lily and others in the pond with the leaves on them. I will trim them back and sink them after the first frost hits as they are still putting on new, but small leaves.
I have pulled my taros out of their pots and have been drying them out, to store until spring. They were busting out of the pots. I am also trying an experiment, and have buried part of them under dirt in my flower beds in a protected corner on the south side of my brick house. We will see on that.
I have also taken some cuttings for extra plants off the dwarf papyrus. I should have several come spring time. I might even give a few away to friends for them to grow as a house/porch plant. LOL.

Things are already looking bare as fall seems to have come earlier this year. The next project for this week, will be putting up the netting as the leaves are changing and getting ready to pile up in the yard. I am a little anxious as it is my first winter for the pond and my 11 goldies, 2 koi, 1 albino catfish, and 3 frogs.
equinecpa
Original Author
14 years ago
Question on potting up the Taro and Papyrus: I pulled them from the pond and put them and their potting material into ceramic pots that don't have drainage holes so they'll keep moist...they don't look happy though...

Should I pot them up into a peat/potting mix for the winter or some other substrate? Should I fertilize or is this supposed to be their dormant period? I have them in a window for light.
horton
14 years ago
"Should I pot them up into a peat/potting mix for the winter or some other substrate? Should I fertilize or is this supposed to be their dormant period? I have them in a window for light."

If you are thinking of having them as house plants then re-potting them would be a good idea.
A little fertilizer once a month does no harm.

If you are just storing them, they will be fine the way you have them. Don't fertilize if just storing them.
Stored Taro do go into a slump and will produce small pale growth over winter. Don't over water, dampening soil is enough. I store some in pots with next to no light and no moisture all winter.
Next spring [late April] water them a bit more, with heat and sun they will take off again.
"Horton"

Overwintering Pond Plants in North Texas (zone 7-8)

Comments (7)

horton

equinecpa
Original Author

Related Discussions

horton

equinecpa
Original Author

hardin

equinecpa
Original Author

horton

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Overwintering Pond Plants in North Texas (zone 7-8)

Comments (7)

horton

equinecpaOriginal Author

Related Discussions

horton

equinecpaOriginal Author

hardin

equinecpaOriginal Author

horton

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

equinecpa
Original Author

equinecpa
Original Author

equinecpa
Original Author