Self Caring Ponds? I Wish.

Water features can be enjoyed in southern zones most of the year. If you live in the northern climates, however, you'll need to provide some protection for marginal plants.

Tropical water plants can't withstand freezing temperatures and have an algae problem in hotter months, so salvage these plants by lifting them, container and all, out of the pond; place them in a dish pan with shallow water. Place the pan in a sunny window or in a well-lit area of the house. Plants will grow indoors until they can be reintroduced outside when the pond is free of ugly, but mostly harmless algae. In the spring in colder climates, place them back in the pond after risk of hard freezes are gone.

If you have plants such as giant reed grass in your pond and the frost has killed them back, it's best to prune back the tops just above water level, and the plants will survive even though ice forms on the pond. Frost often nips back foliage on hardy water lilies: to solve this problem, trim back the leaves to the rhizome or the top of the plant. This will clean up the plant so that it's ready to be lowered to the bottom of the pond, thus able to survive winter conditions. In the spring, just lift plants back up to ledge level and they will start growing again.

Some ponds, especially shallow ones, need to be drained completely during cleanings as algae will often take over a southern climate pond if you don't stay on top of things. Having a high capacity pond skimmer would do the job nicely by constantly exchanging and oxygenating the water. Before draining, move the fish to an inside aquarium or in a larger pond that will be maintained during the winter months. I recommend always having an indoor aquarium if you have pond fish just in case of sickness, disease, or poor water conditions. I recently had a pump problem. The problem was that the pump shot all, except 3 inches, of all the water out of the pond. If I didn't have a seasoned aquarium ready the fish would probably have all died. When removing water from the pond don't waste it, it's rich in nutrients. Use it to water perennials, trees and shrubs; when the water soaks in, it will release nutrients to the plant.

If you plan to overwinter fish, it's important to have a pond that's at least two feet deep or deeper. This allows the fish to go to the depths of the pond to overwinter, and it allows you to take your hardy water lilies and place them at the lower levels as well. If you have an above ground pond I recommend either a good, reliable heater or just bring them inside for the winter.