Getting Your Pond Ready for Colder Weather
By: Inzo Valdevieso
As the leaves start to change color and the air gets crisp, it's time to think about preparing your backyard pond for the winter months ahead. With a little work now, you can help your fishy friends and water plants stay healthy until spring!
The Falling Leaf Challenge
One of the biggest pond problems in autumn is all those leaves drifting down from the trees. Even if your pond is far from any trees, the wind can still blow leaves right into the water. If you don't remove them, the leaves will sink to the bottom and start to rot. As they break down, they release bad gases that can make your fish sick during their winter sleep. No one wants that!
The easiest way to keep leaves out is to put a net over your pond. This catches most of the leaves before they land in the water. Scoop any leaves off the net regularly so they don't build up. If some do slip through into the pond, use a skimmer net on a pole to fish them out. A little effort now means a much healthier pond come spring!
Fish Food for Thought
As it gets colder, your fishy friends won't need as much food. That's because when the water cools down below 50°F, their bodies start to prepare for hibernation by slowing way down. At this point, stop feeding them until spring.
If you keep giving them food in cold water, it can make them sick since their bodies can't digest it while hibernating. Don't worry though, they won't starve! Fish are great at slowing their metabolism way down and "sleeping" through the winter without eating.
To get them ready for this winter rest period, switch to a special cold water fish food in the fall. This food is made for cooler temperatures when fish need fewer calories. Keep an eye on the water temperature with a floating thermometer, so you'll know when to stop feeding altogether at 50°F.
Plant Pruning Time
Your underwater plants also need some fall maintenance to stay healthy. As their leaves and flowers start dying back, remove this dead plant material from the pond so it doesn't rot and pollute the water. Use rake-like tools to grab the dying foliage.
For hardy water lilies planted in the pond, cut their stems down to just a couple inches above the soil. If your lilies are in portable pots, move the pots to the deepest area so the plants can go dormant safely underwater for winter.
Any tropical water lilies you have won't be able to survive freezing temperatures. In fall, you'll need to remove these plants completely from the pond and throw them away or compost them since they are annuals.