The Pond Plant Girl
Since 1999
Beautiful Pond Plants and Great
Water Garden Ideas. Selling pond plants online and
in-store year-round from Southern,
California. Free
online water gardening videos and full water gardening support!
Now is
the Time to Get Your Pond Ready for Spring!
Now that the weather is warming, it is time to think about
healthy water lily that will beautify your large or small pond. Full
growing instructions included. Both hardy varieties for cold climates and
tropical varieties varieties available. I am adding new lilies to the
online store each day.
Wintry Conditions: Frost is a
killer. When water lettuce freezes it does not recover. When there is a threat
of frost or freeze, water lettuce should be covered or brought indoors. However,
remember that they do need sunshine during the day.
Mildew: It is wise to cover your pond to protect the water and
plants from freezing. However, covering your pond will also promote mold and
mildew growth on your water lettuce plants. This is also a killer and your water
lettuce will simply rot away. If you plan to winter over your water lettuce. An
indoor
water garden lightboxis a good choice, or install a fan to
circulate the air and keep the mildew away. Read
Article: How to Grow Water Lettuce
This really works!
In the cold seasons
tropical plants need
extra care. Some pond
plants (such as frogbit) will
grow just fine with a regular
florescent light and others will
survive outdoors even in
freezing temperatures.
Other more tropical plants need
a little extra help with
lighting, heat, and humidity.
Water hyacinth is one such
plant, and a garden light-box can
help! Read Article: How to Make a Lightbox
It is good for the
lilies to go through 1 or 2 frosts. The cool weather
helps force dormancy. After the first or second
frost remove the plants from the pond. Put the pots
in a cool but protected place such as the garage and
let the pots dry out somewhat until the soil is
barely moist. Wrap each pot in a garbage bag and
close the top of the bag so that they will not dry
out much more. Do not close the top tightly;
this way the plant will be able to breathe just a
little. Sealing up the bag tight will also promote
mold and mildew which will...
Read Article: How to Winter Over Tropical Water Lily
This is my friend,
Brian, in South Lake Tahoe, Northern California. Tahoe is located at
6,200 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Zone 6-7. Temperatures in
the summertime can get down to 32 degrees! And, it is known to snow in
Tahoe any month of the year. But this doesn't stop Brian. His
tomato plants grow strong inside his greenhouse. The inside is heated
with Christmas tree lights. The frame is constructed with branches
from local area trees. The siding is 6 mil thick clear visqueen
plastic; which is stiff plastic sheeting used to insulate windows. One
side of his greenhouse is on hinges that open like a door. This is
certainly an attractive greenhouse, Brian! Find out
which type of greenhouse is right for your
climate zone...
Autumn is the time to start
getting serious about protecting
your pond for the upcoming
winter season. An easy way
to do this is by
building a hoop
house to shelter your small
water garden. The hoop
house design on the left uses
PVC pipe and 6 mil. thick
plastic sheeting. The PVC
pipe can be inserted inside the
pond or anchored down outside
the pond into the ground using
stakes that fit into the ends of
the pipe.
Upgrade for Severe Climate:
In more severe climates, I
recommend using 2 layers
of of 6 mil. thick plastic
sheeting with 1 inch bubble wrap
used as insulation in between
the layers of plastic. If
you have heavy snowfall, heavy
duty chicken wire can be used as
reinforcement over the hoop
house.
Heating the Hoop House:
You will want to keep the
climate inside the hoop house
above freezing. Hanging
large C7 or C9 Christmas tree
lights will raise the indoor air
temperature by 20°.
These can easily be purchased on
eBay and at Etsy.com. In
colder climates, a cold frame
house with glass walls is a
wiser choice along with an oil
heater.
The Pond Plant Girl Since 1999
How
to Winter Over Water Lettuce
