Preparing Water Garden Plants For Winter - Knowledgebase Question

Flushing, MI
Avatar for rmkelsey
Question by rmkelsey
October 28, 1999
My husband and I have a water hyacinth in our pond. This is our first time with a water garden, so we are not sure what to do with it in the winter. Do we just leave it out there to freeze or take it out of the pond and care fr it indoors? We spent a fair amount of money on it and it grew quite a bit this summer, so we don't want it to die before it blooms (hopefully next summer). Any help you could give us would be appreciated.


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Answer from NGA
October 28, 1999
Water hyacinths are considered annual plants (they come from the tropics), however some have managed to survive over winter in natural bodies of water and have become an invasive weeds. You can try to keep yours alive indoors in an aquarium with lights, or even in a bucket of water set in a south-facing window. If you leave it in the pond it will freeze for sure, but sometimes even black, slimy, dead-looking water hyacinths spring back to life when the weather warms.

Hope this provides at least some guidance!

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