Over wintering pond plants

[Rosarian]

Would like some advice on trying to over winter some of my pond plants (tropicals) such as papyrus and lotus. I live in Michigan zone 5. Could I keep them in water in my basement, would they need a light source? Any advice or tried and true methods would be appreciated. I have alot of dollars in these plants and don't mind throwing out the floaters but would like to keep these specimens.
Thanks

[AJC]

It depends on the plants, the papyrus will need light and need to be kept warmish, if the other plants have tubers its better to dry them out and store them like dhalias, if not they will need light to survive a winter

[Marlys]

I live in zone 4-5. We leave our lotus in the pond over-winter. We just move it to deeper water 2&1/2-3'. It survives just fine.

MM

[JoshS]

Unless you have one of the true tropical lotus...which is not likely...you can do as Marlys said. Sink it to the deepest part of your pond just like you would a hardy water lily. As long as the tubers don't freeze, it should be fine. Just give it time in the spring...lotus are slow to wake up.

Treat the papyrus like a house plant...warm and as much light as possible.

[andrew davis]

Egyptian papyrus dies outside here in zone 7b. Indoors, one year it wintered, another year it didn't... Personally I won't replace it, it is just too bothersome to drag around twice a year when there are more modestly sized attractive Cyperus which are a lot easier to Winter.

Cyperus isocladus is a gem, it Winters well in a well lit window as a houseplant, you can snip a few offsets and they will cope overwinter in just a glass of water, similarly Cyperus alternifolia, those are a neat size to Winter by comparison

If you had space in a real sunny big window, lopping off a few well rooted sprigs of Cyperus papyrus and growing them in a bucket of water, scrapping the bulk of the Summer growth might be an option worth a go. Cyperus Papyrus seems to prefer a lot of light compared to other cyperus, not so easy growing indoors

Lotus survives Winter dormant as tubers, which form late Autumn... digging those up and storing them damp, frost free to cool 60°f should get them through Winter, if you grew them where they formed tubers below the freeze line, that is more convenient than dragging large tubs about...

Take care when handling lotus, they have quite vulnerable growing tips which if dinged, will usually stop the lotus from growing, aka kills it. One small consolation, if you ding a few tubers, bear in mind since the year dot, lotus tubers have been considered a great delicacy across Asia, lightly boiled

Regards, andy

[John]

andy, great information and a wonderful first post! Welcome to Hallson's Forums!

I have a dwarf variegated Papyrus, and am interested in your remark about overwintering it by snipping off a shoot; does this need to be already rooted? Otherwise, I plan to pot it up and grow on under lights.

I also grow the tall Egyptian Papyrus, and have no room indoors for it, but it kills me to let it freeze...no way to store the roots (rhizome?).

Thanks!

John

[andrew davis]

Hi John,
Yup, well rooted sections are best to over Winter as indoor plants in a dish of water, or potted. Bare rooted pieces are easier to move about when the plant copes well as an aquatic, rather than huge pots weighing umpteen pounds weight

Regards, andy