I'm glad you asked this question. I've been wondering what to do with my corkscrew rush as well. Its still green while everything else has died back for the winter. This is the first year I've had corkscrew rush too. Hopefully others who have it will chime in and tell us how to overwinter it.:)

More than likely, you have Juncus effusus 'Spiralis', which is hardy to zone 3. In other words, you can leave it right where it is. :)

Brenda

Are you referring to Juncus effusus 'spiralis' that is a marginal pond plant? I purchased one last year and, though they say it isn't hardy to zone 3, thought I'd try overwintering it. I removed the pot from the shallow ledge of the pond, dug a hole in the soil near the N.E. of the house foundation, and sunk the pot up to the rim for winter, maybe a bit deeper. I then covered with mulch of leaves, and piled snow over it when winter finally came (which usually comes mid to late November here.

To my amazement it survived. In spring though, some of the 'leaves' were brown, some were green mixed in, so I sort of think it might be 'evergreen'.

Anyways, I am sure others will chime in and tell how theirs overwintered, but I thought I would share my story and let you know there is hope in overwintering this plant.

Glen

I'll chime in. Mine was a bit peaked to start with (the frogs sat on it all summer), but I trimmed it back last fall and sunk it for the winter. It died :(

Hello everyone. I'm new to the club and new to ponding. I dug my pond in June, stocked it with goldfish and some plants. Everything flourished in the 6 x 4 ft pond with the deepest part being about 2 ft. Now, the fish have quit eating their food with the onset on cold weather and my plants are dying. Everyone says this is normal. My question is are there plants that I can put in the pond for the fish during the winter? I am in NC, zone 8.

duplin....why do your fish need plants for the winter? Just clean the pond really well before winter, remove all the dead foliage, stop feeding when the water goes below 50° and you don't need to do much else. In your area, leave everything running all winter.

I have left a pot of rushes out on the edge by mistake last winter. It came back with a vengeance in spring.

Or maybe that was the variegated grassy thing?

I've been trying to find out exactly what to do with the spriggy marginals, but no luck in the books I have. Do I cut the foliage? above the water level? Leave the pots in the margin? On the edge? In the ground? (yeah right - like I'm still going to dig...) So here's my plan!
I'm leaving the variegated grassy one on the edge (done),
throw out one of the acoras (done),
leave the other one on the marginal shelf (done),
maybe trim and slide the pickerel down a little (maybe),
and cut the cattails off above water and leave them where they are (if nice afternoon). That's about the amount of work I'm still willing to do. It's getting awful chilly out there.

I'll let you know in spring how that worked.

:) Mary

The easy way to keep hardy plants for me is to plant them directly in the pond. You need to monitor them if they start spreading too much just as you do a pot. But this way I avoid the hassle of the fall wrangling of too many pots. All I have to really worry about are my tender ones.

My corkscrew rush is the hardy type. I cut it back in the fall (above the water level) and that's it. It has not died. I have 3 of these plants - one in the pond, two in the creek (all planted directly). We shut the pump off for the winter, so the two in the creek aren't even sitting in water. They're pretty tough.

YOUR QUESTIONS:

I've been trying to find out exactly what to do with the spriggy marginals, but no luck in the books I have. Do I cut the foliage? -- YES

above the water level? -- YES

Leave the pots in the margin? On the edge? In the ground? -- Treat water plants like any other perennial or annual. If they are tender in your area, either toss them or bring indoors if you have enough light (spray for bugs first). Many of them don't need to be in water. Just because they will GROW in water, doesn't mean they HAVE to be in water. (Lilies and lotus are some exceptions.) Many pond plants do quite well in the garden. My sister was given a corkscrew rush by her son because he thought it looked cool. She keeps hers in her perennial garden.

-- If they are hardy, cut them back and drop them to the bottom of the pond in their pots (assuming your pond doesn't freeze solid). Yes, you could bury them (pots and all) in the ground if you've got the energy. The ground will protect the roots - just make sure your pots have drainage holes or they will hold water and freeze. I prefer to drop them in the pond. Leaving them ABOVE ground in their pots is a no-no. The pots will crack and the roots will freeze. They will die just like any small container plant left outside all winter.