Overwintering papyrus and taro is not a matter of carrying the pot to the shed and hoping for a mild winter. Both plants come from the tropics and dislike the mercury dropping below 10 °C. Leave them outside too long and you only notice it in spring: soft stems, a tuber rotting away brown, not a single new leaf. Do it properly and you move the plants inside well before the first night frost and see them through the winter with water and light.
Below is the same route we follow in our tanks and tubs: when to intervene, how to keep papyrus wet, how to store taro tubers and where things usually go wrong in December. No miracle products, just a work schedule you can finish in an afternoon.
Why papyrus and taro cannot tolerate even one degree of frost
Cyperus papyrus grows naturally in the marshes of the Nile valley and across large parts of tropical Africa. Colocasia esculenta, better known as taro or elephant ear, comes from Southeast Asia and has been cultivated for thousands of years, as a food crop and as an ornamental with large, heart-shaped leaves. What they share is a climate where it never freezes and the ground stays moist.
As soon as water in a plant cell freezes, it expands and tears the cell wall. In papyrus that already happens at a few degrees of frost at the surface. In taro the leaf goes limp within one night and turns brown. Damage to leaves is visible at once, damage to the rhizome sometimes only weeks later, and a tuber that has frozen will not sprout again in spring.
There is something else many people underestimate: in a tub or shallow pond the temperature drops faster than in open ground. Shallow water follows the air. A night at 2 °C below zero is then enough to freeze the top layer and damage the roots, even if the garden itself seems to get off lightly.
Overwintering papyrus and taro: the right moment
The moment you act matters more than the method you choose afterwards. If you want to overwinter papyrus and taro, a date in your diary is worth more than an expensive pot. From mid-October, keep an eye on the forecast and bring the plants in before a first night frost is in sight. On the coast that comes later than inland. The KNMI keeps track of frost periods and has measured at De Bilt since 1901, so regional differences are easy to check.
Work in this order and you will miss nothing:
- Check the plant for slugs, aphids and eggs between the stems.
- Rinse the roots clean with lukewarm water, taking care not to break fine roots.
- Leave the plant for a day in a bucket of water in a shady spot so that the pests let go.
- Then move it in one go to the place where it will spend the winter.
What you should not do: keep the plant for a week in a cold shed to let it acclimatise. Overwintering papyrus and taro starts with a clean plant and a short transition, not with a warm room. The shorter the route from outside to 15 °C, the less foliage you lose. A stop in a dark hallway costs you exactly the stems you were trying to save.
Papyrus indoors: water, light and temperature
Papyrus is the easier of the two, as long as you keep it wet. Stand the pot in a bucket or tub with 5 to 10 cm of water and top up with lukewarm tap water. A temperature between 10 and 15 °C is fine; warmer is allowed, but then it keeps growing and needs more light than you can give it in January.
- In water: the pot stands permanently in a few centimetres of water; replace the water once a week.
- In moist potting soil: the soil stays damp, but the pot does not stand in a layer of stagnant water.
The water variant wins on one point: you see straight away whether the roots stay healthy or turn brown. Light is the second factor, and the trickiest part of overwintering papyrus and taro turns out to be that light every year. Plan on 6 to 8 hours of bright daylight a day; a north-facing window will not deliver that in December. Place it on a south or west bank, optionally hang a grow light above it, and check twice a week that the water level is still right and the stems feel firm.
If the papyrus stands in a tub with medaka, the plant comes out and the fish stay in the pond. Medaka tolerate water a few degrees above freezing, papyrus does not, and that difference decides who moves. Do not let the tub freeze over completely: keep an opening in the ice or put an air pump in, because your fish need oxygen too.
Storing taro: tubers, potting soil or keeping it growing
When overwintering papyrus and taro, the taro tuber is your insurance. Cut the leaves about 5 cm above the tuber as soon as the first cold arrives, dig the tuber out of the pot or tub and let it dry for a few days in a cool, dark place. Only then does it go into storage.
| Method | Temperature | Humidity | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry in sand or vermiculite | 10 to 15 °C | Low to moderate | A few tubers, little space |
| Keep growing in pot | 15 to 20 °C | Constantly moist | Quick regrowth in spring |
| Cool cellar, wrapped in newspaper | 8 to 12 °C | Moderate | Larger quantities of tubers |
If you choose to keep it growing, the plant stays active indoors and needs water and light like an ordinary houseplant. That approach takes more attention, but in March it gives you a plant with leaves while the tubers in the cellar still have to start. In the dark months give it less water than in summer, because wet soil in a cool room is the fastest route to rot.
If you have more tubers, store them separately. One rotten tuber does not infect the rest if they do not touch, and you always keep a spare in case one fails. Write the name on the newspaper or bag in pencil, because by February all tubers look alike.
Five plants that need to come indoors just as much
Papyrus and taro are not the only marsh plants the Dutch winter does not suit. These five come inside too, or you let them go deliberately and buy new ones in spring:
- Cyperus papyrus, the papyrus reed you see in almost every garden centre.
- Colocasia esculenta, taro or elephant ear, with its large heart-shaped leaves.
- Canna indica, of which you only keep the rhizomes.
- Alocasia, the arrowroot with the striped leaves.
- Musa, the ornamental banana that is always too late to harden off in open ground.
The same basic rule applies to all five: roots moist, leaves in bright light, frost-free pot. If you move plants around, check the list of invasive alien species. Species on that list, such as water hyacinth, may not simply be given away or tipped into the ditch. That European list has existed since 2016 and the NVWA keeps it up to date. Surplus plant material belongs in green waste, not in the ditch behind the dike.
How to bring your plant into spring strong and green
Around mid-March you can start hardening off. Put the plants outside during the day in a sheltered spot and bring them in again for the night during the first week. Only when nights stay above 10 °C can they go back to the tub. Going out too early costs you the leaves you have kept all winter.
When you move them, give fresh potting soil and a handful of fertiliser straight away, because the old soil is exhausted and the plant needs all its energy in spring. With papyrus, cut the old stems down to the ground as soon as you see new shoots. With taro, let the tuber sprout first in a pot of lukewarm soil, and only then put it in the water.
The hardest part of overwintering papyrus and taro is keeping track of what worked. Your own records are the best guide: note per plant the date it came inside, the temperature of the winter spot and whether any leaves were lost. After two winters you know exactly which plant does best in which corner of your house, and that is worth more than any general advice.
Further reading
- Making the pond autumn-ready: leaf litter, sludge and ammonia
- Removing sludge before winter: this is your last chance
- Algae in the medaka pond: what 16 years of research teaches
- Caring for medaka through the seasons
FAQ: the questions that come back every autumn
Can papyrus survive one night frost?
That is usually the outer leaves you lose: one night at 1 or 2 °C below zero does not kill the plant straight away. The rhizome often survives, provided the frost does not penetrate deep into the pot. Let such a plant recover indoors and only cut away what is dead in spring.
Should I water taro in winter?
If you store the tuber dry, you give no water. If you keep the plant growing in its pot, you water sparingly: the soil should just not dry out. Wet feet in a cool room are fatal.
Why is my taro tuber rotting in storage?
Usually because it went into storage too wet or because the space was too warm. Let it dry for a few days first, store it between 10 and 15 °C and keep the tubers apart rather than in a pile.
When can papyrus and taro go outside again?
Only once nights stay above 10 °C, in practice around mid-May. Papyrus may go back to the tub before taro, because papyrus tolerates cold water better than cold air. Harden the plants off for two weeks before you leave them outside.
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