will water hyacinth survive winter?

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dereks

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Mar 7, 2006
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I'm getting mixed answers on this one, anybody tried to leave this in the pond over the winter? I'm in Ohio.
 

RazzleFish

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Oct 28, 2009
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I'm in northern Ohio (Zone 5b) and I know a lot of people that keep it and it comes back without any problems. I don't know if there are different kinds but they seem fine here. I would check with a local garden center as they will most likely know your climate and know what works and what doesn't.

With any plant a heavy layer of mulch in fall will help protect the roots (and in this case bulb) from freezing temps so that might be something to look into.
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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Generally it's illegal to sell in any state where it doesn't die off.
 

dereks

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Mar 7, 2006
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Thanks, does anybody know a good way to keep it inside without lights? Maybe by keeping a bulb or whatever? (I have no clue when it comes to this stuff)
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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You could put a few in a 5 gal bucket with a dome reflector and a power twist fluorescent. Just keep changing the water with old tank water.
 

garyfla

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Apr 23, 2010
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Hi
I live in s. florida and WH goes dormant at around 40, 32 is fatal . Your best bet would be to follow subrosas suggestion. they are very light demanding though you MIGHT be able to keep them dormant. I have never been able to keep them in artificial light though in a pond they are incredible weeds. They are probably the worlds best water filter so worth a bit of struggle?? lol gary
 

ponderingky

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Sep 24, 2009
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Ashland, KY
Hey - I live in KY and have had it survive (once) but usually it dies off with the hard frost and really cold winter. The one year it lived was a milder winter and I think the ones that made it were covered by leaf litter that I left in the pond (they were near the edge and covered by leaves). I couldn't believe when I started seeing new growth in the spring. Typically it will die off - I would say your best bet is to try and over winter it inside.
 

pbeemer

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Apr 27, 2010
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So Cal
since Razzlefish seems to have a strain that has adapted to you kind of winter (+/-) i suggest getting some plants from Razzle's sources and trying that. i don't know that there are different species of water hyacinth, but even one species can have divergent races adapted to their local climates
 
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