Soaking water lily rhizomes/tubers in a bleach solution?

[WaterGardener]

Is that pond covered with plastic?

I couldn't believe the difference that makes, just a little plastic.

My pond is under a greenhouse structure for winter, covered in plastic. The water temp very rarely falls below 50 degrees.

The pond is in the ground, but I also have an Intex pool above ground just for water lilies. We put a pvc frame over it and cover that with plastic for the winter. It doesn't even get a skim of ice on it, even at zero degrees.

Just my experience. I do live in zone 6 though. Not zone 5. And the pool holds a significantly more volume of water than 20 gallons.

 

[Lisak1]

No disrespect to anyone, but I think we need to get away from calling a 20 gallon container a "pond". Even my patio "pond" holds three times more water than that but I only call it a pond because we don't seem to have a better name for them. A "container water garden" works, but doesn't have the same ring to it. And I don't feel a 20 gallon container even reaches that level. At that point I'd be tempted to dig a hole below the frost line and drop the lily tuber in and cover it up. A bucket in a closet with a heater sounds like a nightmare to me.

 

[addy1]

I would put the tuber in the bucket in the closet, change out the water now and then, do not use a heater. You don't want the water warm enough to stimulate growth.

 

[addy1]

Overwintering Hardy Water Lilies and Lotuses​

Techniques for plants grown in tubs or pools​

Many water plants will survive the winter in a pond or pool. However, plants in raised tubs, pools and other vessels will not survive the winter if you routinely have long periods of temperatures below freezing.
To try this technique, you will need a place to store the dormant plants. Temperatures should range from 30 to 50 degrees F. Light is not necessary because the plants will be dormant. An unheated basement is ideal, but you can sometimes find these conditions in garages or sheds, too.
Note that this technique is only effective with "hardy" water lilies and lotuses. In other words, they must be plants that normally spend the winter in dormancy. Tropical water lilies are generally treated as annuals.
Once temperatures have dropped in the fall, find a bucket or tub that's large enough to accommodate the pot that your lily or lotus is planted in. Take the plant from your outdoor garden-pot and all-and place it in the winter storage bucket. Remove all dead and dying foliage. Move it to the place it will spend the winter, and fill the bucket with water, covering the surface of the plant's soil by about 2 to 6 inches.
During the winter, check the water level occasionally to make sure it's still covering the soil surface by a few inches. Once the weather has warmed in spring, you can return the lily or lotus to its summer home.

Last updated: 01/29/2021

 

[Joshaeus]

I would put the tuber in the bucket in the closet, change out the water now and then, do not use a heater. You don't want the water warm enough to stimulate growth.

I was going to use a controller to set the heater to about 38 fahrenheit...cold enough that most hardy plants (except for water hawthorn) will not spring out of dormancy. The closet is outdoors and unheated, so without a heater the bucket's contents would sooner or later freeze solid. I'll be using a titanium heater, likely around 50-100 watts for the 5 gallon bucket.

No disrespect to anyone, but I think we need to get away from calling a 20 gallon container a "pond". Even my patio "pond" holds three times more water than that but I only call it a pond because we don't seem to have a better name for them. A "container water garden" works, but doesn't have the same ring to it. And I don't feel a 20 gallon container even reaches that level. At that point I'd be tempted to dig a hole below the frost line and drop the lily tuber in and cover it up. A bucket in a closet with a heater sounds like a nightmare to me.

There's an argument for that first point, for sure...

At this point, I am thinking of getting two hardy lily rhizomes this fall, storing one in the bucket and one in a bag of peat moss or sand in my fridge, and seeing if either of them survives the winter and sprouts when I set up the water garden (which I just spray painted this morning) in spring. That way, if one or both rhizomes perish during dormancy, it will not be as painful as if I lost a cherished plant from an overwintering mistake.