Closing Your Pond for the Fall
Getting your water garden ready for winter..Brrrrr!!...
Hardy plant care...
Most hardy bog pond plants can be trimmed to about 3-6" after October 15th and
placed in the deep section of the water garden. Aquatic grasses, reeds, cattails,
rushes and similar grass-like plants should be only trimmed back to about
18" and remain in shallow water (1-6" of water above pot) so that their
stems rise above the surface of the water. These plants "breathe" through
their stems in the winter. Water iris should not be moved to deep water
since they can suffocate in water more than a couple inches above the pot.
Oxygenators and lilies can stay in the deep section (18-36") of the pond
they normally grow in through the summer. As long as they are below ice
level (maximum ice depth is 8-10" in Ohio), they should over winter fine.
Trim all remaining leaves and stems off your water lilies after the first couple
freezes to prevent them from fouling the water as they are shed.
Tropical pond plant care...
If you have tropical pond plants you can bring them indoors as houseplants over
the winter or discard and replace them next spring. Most will do well in a
pan with water near a bright window. Umbrella palms do especially well
indoors over winter. Tropical water lilies and floating plants are a
challenge to over-winter and generally replaced each year unless you have
access to a greenhouse that stays 65-75 degrees year-round. Any tropical
water garden plants you do wish to save be sure to move to a warm location before the
first frost.
Floating plants killed by frost should be immediately removed so that they
do not add to the plant debris in your water garden. Tropical pond plants should
not be placed back into the water garden in the spring until water temperature
reaches 65-70 degrees (usually late May to June 1).
Fall fish care...
If you have been feeding your pond fish regularly continue doing so into the
fall as long as they continue to eat the food quickly within a few minutes.
Once water temperatures fall below 60 degrees, it is best to switch to a
wheat-germ based food that is easier to digest.
If you have not been feeding your pond fish earlier in the season it is suggested
you may wish to feed them with a wheat germ based food (we recommend
Nursery Pro Lo-Temp or Show Koi brand food) the last few weeks of the
fall to help them build some additional fat reserves before the winter.
Both of these brands also have the added benefit of a patented immune system
enhancing supplement that strengthens your fish before winter. A medicated
food for parasite or bacterial infections is another good preventative step
that may be useful if you have had recent problems with your pond fish.
In any case all feed feeding of the fish should stop after the water temp
falls below 50 degrees -- usually about November 1. Even during warm spells,
do not feed your pond fish over the winter months since their metabolism
will have slowed enough not to properly digest the food even though they may seem hungry!
More...
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