Can I Bring My Water Lettuce Indoors for the Winter

Question: Can I bring my water lettuce indoors for the winter and put them in my fish aquarium until Spring?

Technically Speaking....

Answer: This is a "YES-BUT" answer.

YES, you can bring water lettuce indoors for the winter months BUT you have some things you need to consider… Water lettuce will need some pretty strong lighting to do well indoors and will need space surrounding it where it floats. It will not survive if you try to squeeze it under a tank lid or squeeze too many in at once. You would have to leave the top open and suspend your light above the tank. Given those conditions your water lettuce will probably do fairly well until Spring. If you have a working greenhouse that maintains temperatures over 70+F and great lighting, you could also keep your water lettuce in there in a shallow tub, or kiddie pool. As a reminder, water lettuce is a TROPICAL plant and enjoys alot of sun..it does NOT have a dormancy period like other aquatic plants.

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HOWEVER:

Because water lettuce (or even floating hyacinth) is so inexpensive (Dreamscapes sells them for about $3.50 a piece), the best recommendation for the backyard water garden hobbyist is to compost your water lettuce after the first frost and buy new water lettuce the next season. Aquatic plants generally go on sale for the season in Central Pennsylvania as early as April at our Retail Aquatic Center.  The cost and time spent to keep floating plants year round may not seem worth the cost of simply purchasing new plants each season. I generally advise using water lettuce as an annual in your water garden, and bring them in for some short lived indoor aquatic plant features when temperatures drop, or compost them.

So Now What??

Dreamscapes has a full service maintenance program that travels all over the Lebanon, Lancaster and Dauphin County areas constructing and installing pond tents. We also carry a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services koi ponds and waterfalls in the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA