Your Water Garden and Old Man Winter

Fall

As colors change on the trees overhead, so do the needs of water gardens and water features. Depending on your local climate and the amount of deciduous trees in your neighborhood, this season has the potential cause maintenance headaches.

Water gardens need to be protected from falling leaves. The skimmer and filter must be checked often - sometimes more than once a day - and emptied of debris. In cases where several trees surround a pond they must be netted during this time to prevent large amounts of leaves from falling into the water. If leaves are allowed to sink, they accumulate on the bottom and produce toxic gasses through the winter months as they decay. Pond plants, too, typically die back and decay in the water. They must be quickly removed or closely cut back for the winter health of the water garden.

As pond fish metabolism slows, they require less food. When the water temperature reaches 55 degrees, feedings should stop. Fish cannot digest food at temperatures lower than 55 degrees, and the pellets will rot in their gut, causing poor health issues.

Fountains and water features need a bit of fall maintenance, as well. Care should be taken to promptly remove leaves and other debris that might fall or blow into the water. Leaves can quickly clog pump intakes and flexible tubing, causing the pump to run dry and possibly burn out. Pay close attention to nighttime temperatures as summer slips away and winter knocks. One hard freeze and expanding ice could damage a small fountain’s pump or portion of the water feature.

Winter

The winter months don't necessarily spell total shutdown for a water garden or water feature. In fact, a light snow can be breathtaking against moving water, and ice formations provide visual interest like nothing else, in an otherwise dormant back yard setting.

A word of caution is warranted where water gardens are concerned. If a water garden contains fish, you must find a way to keep an open hole in the ice through the winter months. Otherwise, toxic gasses released by decaying organic mater can build up and poison the pond's inhabitants.

Several products are available to accomplish this. Electric heating coils attached to a float are often used to gently melt the ice. Marketed as pond deicers, these devices use relatively little energy by switching off and on throughout the day, thermostatically.

Pond keepers often shut down waterfalls and streams, as they can freeze solid during a cold snap and force water out of the pond by creating ice dams. In slightly warmer climates, ponds can continue to function, as long as plumbing and electrical components are checked frequently for signs of ice damage.

Fountains and water features often use weaker magnetic-drive pumps that may not be able to keep water moving fast enough during the winter months to prevent icing. In areas where hard freezes are typical, consider moving the feature indoors. Often, smaller fountains can be easily transferred to a sun porch or three-seasons room where they can be enjoyed through the ice and snow.


Written exclusively for Garden-Fountains.com by Thomas Barthel, former managing editor of Water Garden News. Tom is a master gardener and freelance writer, and is the co-author of "Garden Ponds Made Easy" (Bowtie Press, 2006).