The attractive water chestnut is also very popular with German hobby gardeners and aquarists. However, it is a very difficult plant to cultivate and will not grow and thrive unless certain conditions are met. In this article you can find out whether you can overwinter the water chestnut (and if so, how).
The water chestnut is not hardy and is normally kept once a year
Can the water chestnut overwinter?
The "classic" water chestnut (Trapa natans) is an annual plant. Hibernation or a corresponding attempt normally makes no sense for her.
Variety Trapa natans var. bispinosa
Things are different with the variety Trapa natans var. bispinosa (Chinese two-thorn water chestnut or Singhara water chestnut). It can be overwintered. To do this, you need to keep the plant under artificial light in a greenhouse or conservatory. Otherwise she will not survive.
The variety is characterized by its olive-green leaves and the seven parallel veins on the leaf blade. These parallel nerves are reddish to reddish brown in colour.