Discuss – Provide adequate shade by having 60 to 70% of the pond’s surface area covered with floating plants or other types of shade.

If you have a backyard pond or a garden fountain full of plants and fish, you’ll need to make plans to prepare them for the colder months that are coming soon.

For example, fertilizing should stop about six weeks before first frost. “Hardy” plants should generally be allowed to go dormant for the winter. Wait until cold weather starts turning the plant’s leaves from green to yellow or brown, then trim off all the foliage, and follow one of the methods described below. “Tropical” plants, on the other hand, should not be exposed to night temperatures lower than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and should be moved indoors before their leaves start to change, and kept growing throughout the winter via the Bright Light method.

The Deep Pond method for hardy lilies and marginals:

Discuss – Another way to obtain Koi pond aeration is to have different kinds of under water pond plants such as Anacharis and Hornwort. These plants will grow and spread out very well under water.

Wait until cold weather starts turning the plant’s leaves from green to yellow or brown, then trim off all the foliage, and simply lower the pot into an area of the pond where the water is at least 36″ deep. For best results, keep a small area of the pond free of ice by using a pump, air pump or heater. Move plants back up to their original shallower locations promptly in the Spring. Types reporting the greatest successes include Arrowhead, most Rush, Plantain, Hardy Lily, Iris, Sweetflag, Spider Lily, Glyceria, Sago Pond Plant, Vallisneria americum, Creeping Primrose, Wild Reed, Parrot’s Feather and Acorus.

Discuss – Pick a design for the fish pond. First individuals would have to decide on the size of the pond they want to build.

The Flower Bed method for hardy marginals:

Bury the plant, pot and all, in a flower bed, and cover with mulch. Return plants to pond promptly in Spring. Types reporting the greatest successes: Arrowhead, Pickerel Rush, Plantain, Sweetflag, Acorus, and Iris.

The Dark Indoor method for hardy and semi-hardy marginals:

Place pot in a cool dark place, for example a root cellar, attached garage or cool basement. The idea is to keep the plant cool and dark enough to remain dormant. Plant should be watered regularly, or more simply immersed in a bucket of water. The plant still needs to “breathe”, so it should not be sealed off from air. Types reporting the greatest successes: Hardy Lily, Iris, most Rush, Plantain, Sweetflag, Canna and Longwood Canna, Cattail, and Wild Reed.

The Dry Root method for hardy or semi-hardy marginals:

Unpot plant, then trim roots from tuber and rinse clean. Store tuber in cool dry place. Alternately, remove foliage only, then leave in dry, dark, cool place. Types reporting the greatest successes: Canna and Longwood Canna.

Discuss – Make sure that when constructing a natural pond, that you dig deep enough, so that the pond does not freeze over during winter. Also, consider what types of aquatic life you want to include in the pond before digging.

The Bright Light method for tropical marginals:

Move plant indoors before leaves start to lose color. Keep in sunny window or under very strong fluorescent or metal halide lighting. Water thoroughly throughout the winter, or keep in kiddy pool or other indoor “pond”. Reported successes: Taro, Tropical Lily, Parrot’s Feather, Umbrella Palm, Papyrus and Water Poppy.

For more information about winterizing your ponds, fountains and statuary check the website listed below.

Discuss – Another consideration is that fact that you will really want to keep your Koi pond close to your home in order to protect it from predatory animals and children that may inadvertently bring harm to your pond, equipment, or fish. This is after all a rather sizeable investment you will want to protect it.

Imagine the pleasure of owning a beautiful pond as part of your landscape. Ponds and water features can be incorporated into many areas of your landscape such as patios, barbeque areas, entrance ways, or even vegetable gardens. A beautiful pond or water feature adds a quality to the landscape that is inviting and relaxing. Creating a beautiful and inexpensive pond in your yard is actually not as difficult as you might think. Here is a simple way to add the beauty of a pond to your landscape.

When building a pond or water feature take in to consideration the topographic features that are already present in your landscape. It may be possible to incorporate the landscape features that are already present in your yard into your future pond or water feature. Landscape features that may compliment your water feature or pond might include hills, slopes, boulders, low areas etc.

Discuss – Individuals should make sure that they do not make their fish pond too small. This is a mistake that a lot of beginners make.

You can easily set up a simple pond in a couple hours using heavy duty plastic sheeting. Choose a location that has more than 50 percent shade. Placing your pond in a location that is too sunny may cause it to have a problem with algae. Including a small tree or shrub next to the pond will provide shelter for birds and small animals that visit your new pond.

Dig an oval or kidney shaped hole the size that you would like your pond. Your pond should be about a foot or so deep. Be sure to have one end of your pond as well as the edges of your pond more shallow than the deeper area of your pond in the center. By creating a very shallow edge that is a few inches deep and approximately10 inches wide all around your pond, you will be able to cover over the pond liner with pebbles or sand once your pond is completed. This way the liner of your pond will not be visible and your pond will look more natural.

Discuss – The poor Koi keeper is left wondering what happened. He then proceeds the way of many before him, with a shovel, lots of sand and a determination to fill in what was once a treasured feature of his garden, his Koi pond.

After digging out the area for your pond you should line the pond area with sand. This will help to prevent the liner from being damaged. Next place the pond liner over the sand. You can anchor the pond liner with stones or soil.

Next fill the pond with water. If you have made the inside edges of your pond shallow enough you can use pea gravel or sand around the edge of your pond to hide the extending pond liner and continue the gravel right into the water of your pond. This way the water in your pond will overlap the gravel or sand surrounding your pond to completely hide your pond liner.

Plant some ferns or other small plants near your new Pond. Incorporating stones or small boulders near your water feature can add a striking element to your new design. You may even consider adding a large boulder in the center of your water feature so that frogs or other small animals will have a place to sit or and a way to climb out of the water.

Discuss – Another way to obtain Koi pond aeration is to have different kinds of under water pond plants such as Anacharis and Hornwort. These plants will grow and spread out very well under water.

After filling your pond with water you should let the chlorine dissipate for at least a day before adding water plants. We suggest that you incorporate native plants into your pond or waterscape. Check with your local nursery to see what type of plants they recommend. If native plants are not available they will be able to advise you on which plants will be the hardiest for your area. Some water plants are free floating species and can be placed right into the pond. Other water plants grow in the soil and need to be placed into pots in your pond.

If you decide to add fish to your pond be sure to wait at least a week to allow the chorine to dissipate sufficiently. Adding a few beautiful fish to your pond is a great way to control mosquitoes. You should check with your local pet shop for advice on adding a pond aerator or filter to your pond if you decide to add fish. Your local pet shop can also advise you on the number of fish that your size of pond can manage as well as how to feed and care for your pond fish properly.

I hope that this guide has inspired you to incorporate and enjoy the beauty and serenity of a pond in your landscape.

Discuss – A Koi pond is also much larger than a water garden because Koi can grow to be very large in size, some growing to be the size of large trout or catfish. It is recommended that a Koi pond be large enough to hold at least a thousand gallons of water in order to keep the fish healthy.

Doing a full pond cleaning during the colder winter months can be
very stressful on your fish. However, if the pond is really
dirty and full of ‘muck’ – then you may want to consider it
because all of the decaying organic matter in the pond can cause
problems if the pond ices over, and this begins to de-gas and
rot.

So, I think the best solution, and what we used to do for our
clients was do a partial Fall pond cleaning.

Discuss – Outline the edges with rock. One should be careful when selecting the rocks that will line the edges of the pond.

Here’s how to do it:

First, get a container that will hold roughly 100 gallons or so,
or up to half of your pond volume (bigger is better). Then take
a pump with a hose, and pump out the relativel ‘clean’ water from
your pond by holding the pump just beneath the water surface.
Keep as much of the ‘old’ pond water as you can. Then, catch
your fish (if possible) and place them into the holding tank of
their own (clean) water.

Then you can either net out your leaves and dispose of them,
along with any muck that you can get out also. Alternatively,
you can then pump out the remaining water and do a thorough clean
out, including vacuuming out the pond with a large wet/dry vac
(this works great!).

Then refill the pond back up to the level it was at before
disposing of the water, de-chlorinate the water, and adjust the
pH to match that of the ‘old’ water in your holding tank. At
this point, start pumping new water from the pond into your
holding tub, and then pumping the mixture back into the pond. Do
this for 15-20 minutes until the new water mixture matches that
in the pond – and then pump the remaining water back into your
pond while netting your fish back in as well.

But it’s very important not to expose your fish to new water
conditions too quickly as differences in temperature and pH can
cause extreme stress to your fish, affect the immune system, and
even cause shock or fish death. So always be careful when
changing water.

Discuss – These are not typically the most attractive lawn features you can come up with because of the lack of plant life in or around the pond and it is not a good idea to have a Koi pond in an environment that has violent extremes in weather such as a severe winter. These fish are highly susceptible to weather based conditions and simply can’t survive a long winter.

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Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several
other pond-related websites including
MacArthurWatergardens.com
and Pond-Filters-Online.com. He
also publishes a free monthly
newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over
9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE
‘New Pond Owners Guide’ visit MacArthur Water Gardens today!
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