Prepping pond plants for winter

If you have not yet cut back your Louisiana irises, cyperus or papyrus, do so in September so new growth can start freely in the spring.

Water lilies begin dormancy in September. Their leaves get smaller and smaller and they stop blooming. Don't worry. They are reacting to shorter periods of daylight.

Stop fertilizing water lilies in mid October in the South. By starving the plants at the end of the season, they will form some small, hard and durable tubers which survive the dormant period better than the large fleshy root of the main plant. This, along with dropping the water lily to the bottom of your pond will give you a better chance of your lilies coming back in the spring.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Overwintering water lilies

I have a lilly in my pond and it seems to be dying off does it die or need to be cut back to over winter ?

i bought it this summer and had a couple of flowers and and has quite a few leaves but they are slowly dying off.will it completely die off for winter or do i need to cut it back .if any one has any advice on how to over winter it would be much appreciated

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• Answer:
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  If you live where the night temperatures are starting to drop below 55º, your lilies are going dormant. They will soon do that in warmer climes. Here's an article I wrote about water lily care. It should answer all your questions.
• http://www.pondlady.com/Articles/Water_L…

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Pond building cost

What is the cost of having a little fish pond made in your backyard?


Answer:
It always depends on the size. A 6' x 9' kidney shape turnkey with pump, filter, waterfall, plants and landscaping would run about 5 thousand bucks.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Pond liner?

What is a pond liner?


Answer:
Anything that holds water indefinitely can be a pond liner. 40 mil butyl rubber is the best. You can cut it to order, it lasts well over 20 years and is my choice for ponds.
Concrete not such a good choice because it's brittle and has a problem with temperature extremes.
Flexible PVC is cheap and widely used, but does not hold up at all.
Preformed liners are popular, but just like PVC is only good for a short time.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

What size liner do I need?

I have built a garden pond measuring 3m x1.5m x1m deep can someone tell me what size liner i should get ?

i would also be grateful if you could suggest what size LPH pump i will need.

Answer:

Here's how to find out what size liner to buy:

http://www.pondlady.com/resource/How%20T…

Buy the largest pump you can afford. 1200 gallons per hour would be perfect.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Is pond maintenance hard?

Building a pond?

Once it's built, how hard is it to maintain?  I'm looking to make a in ground one with liner.  I wanna know how hard it is to maintain.

Answer:

Ponds require very little maintenance once balanced. If you have goldfish and the proper plants, the pond loves benevolent neglect.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Peace lily problems

How do you revive a peace lilly?
I was given a peace lilly from my church after my dad passed away. I went on vacation for a couple of days and nobody was home to keep my peace lilly watered. I have never had a green thumb and I am not sure exactly what I need to do to revive it. i would hate to just neglect it because it was given to me as a blessing for my dad! Is there any way to revive it? Is there a point where it can no longer be saved?

Answer:

Try putting it in the shower and soaking it real good. If you can't do that, put it in water and let it sit for a half hour or so. Take it out, let it drain, then keep it in the house. Do not fertilize it.
If it can be saved, that's the only way to do it. It should perk up in a day or so.


To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Potassium Permanganate

I need to make a potassium permanganate solution to clean my pond. what is the ratio?
I have 50g of Potassium permanganate. how much powder in how much water??


Answer:
You are much better off not using that for anything. There are many ways to clean a pond without chemicals. The stuff is poison and will harm your plants and fish.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Winter plant survival

Will floating pond plants survive in the pond over the winter?

I have a small black plastic pond in my backyard that I keep fish in and this year I've added three floating water plants to it as well: Miniature Water Hyacinth (Eichornia sp.), Sensitive Plant (Neptunia aquatica) and Yellow Water Snowflake (Nymphoides crenata). I live in Maine so the winter isn't warm or easy, but there is a floating de-icer in there as well, so the water they're in won't ever freeze over. So would any of those plants survive the winter? If not, would it work to bring them inside for the winter months and then put them back out in the spring?


Answer:
They will not survive your Maine winters. You can try to bring them inside. It might work.
They do go dormant in the winter, but plan on replacing them in the spring.
You know you will lose them outside. You have some hope of keeping them inside.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Preformed koi pond

Above ground koi pond using a preformed liner?
I want to take an odd shaped preformed plastic liner and place it in my yard but above ground. Can I do that?
Answer:
You can put it above ground. Here's one way: Put the liner where you want it, then build a box around it. Using landscape timbers would probably be easiest. Now fill the pond with water. No fish yet, but with the water in the pond, fill around it with soil. When you are finished and the pond water is filthy, pump it out. Now fill the pond with the water the fish will swim in. Add dechlor, massive amounts of filtration, a pump and put the koi in. Preformed ponds are usually 18" deep, so the koi will not do well at all. They like water 3' deep. If you put goldfish in, you will have better luck. If you are where it freezes, your pond will freeze solid in the winter.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Duck pond

Help me with building a pond?
I'm planning on making a pond for my ducks out of either a plastic pond form (not the liner) or a stock tank. The only problem is they poop a lot in their water. Anyone with experience with ducks will know what i mean =) so I want to have a good filter that can handle the poop and I don't want to spend over $50 on it.

What type of filter would be best?
i have electricity in my chicken coop but i cant have a cord coming out during the night (i need to be able to close the door). so that means i need a filter that does have to run constantly.

Answer:

You cannot filter duck poop from a pond. Try to find something that you can hose out daily. It would need a shallow end so you could use a power nozzle to hose the pond out. Ducks are messy critters. No filter will work. Put Mosquito Dunks in to keep mosquitoes away. You could run a pump if you like, but since you have to hose it out often, you really don't need one.


To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

What liner is best?

What is the best, strongest pond liner?


Answer:

Buy a Firestone 40 mil butyl rubber liner. It's the best.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Money plant?

Is the Epipremnum aureum aka "money plant" an aquatic plant?
I need to know for a science fair project.

Answer:
It is not an aquatic plant and will die if you try to grow it in water. You could use that as part of your science project. Money plant in water opposed to horsetail fern in water.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Tiny pond

Aquarium Plants question?
I am getting a 20 gallon bucket and I am going to turn it into a mini guppy pond with these plants in it.
-Java Fern
-1 bamboo plant ( half in water and the top part sticking out)
-1 water lily
-Marimo Moss ball

Can I grow these plants in a few hours (4-7) of sunlight each day? would they survive? and do I need any special tablets/plant food or any other equipment to keep them alive. I am trying to keep these plants alive without a special aquarium lamp.

Answer:

You will need some submerged vegetation like anacharis or hornwort to help keep the water clear. The water lily needs at least 5 -6 hours of sun daily to grow, so you might want to consider another floating plant. If you do put a water lily in there, 20 gallons is too small - another reason for choosing another plant.
It just occurred to me? Is your mini pond going to be indoors? No water lily will grow indoors unless it is in a greenhouse with special temperature controls.


To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Slugs in the garden

Besides salt, what is a solution to SLUG infestations?
I have slugs crawling not only on the ground, but now, on the siding of the house. I can use salt to kill the ones I see, but would like to know how to eradicate them.  Help please.


Answer:

You can buy snail and slug bait at most nurseries and big box stores. It works.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Waterfall Rocks

I'm looking for a rock that i can carve for a waterfall on my mom's koi pond?



Answer:
Find a stone supplier near you. They will have to drill a hole in it so that water can come up through it. Carving a rock is probably not possible for you unless you have specialized equipment. You could check on lava rock. If you find a lava rock boulder, you will be able to work with it, but be sure you wear heavy gloves because it's sharp.


To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Fairy Moss

I have a question for Pondlady?
Will floating Fairy Moss, most commonly seen in ponds, survive if I put it in an indoor 55 gallon aquarium with florescent lighting? I accidentally received some of this and I do not want it in my large 8,000 gallon pond with skimmer and bio-falls. I do understand that the fish may eat it, but if they don't, will it survive, or just rot and cloud the water? Also, I have an AquaClear 110 filter in my aquarium, if that makes a difference.


Answer:

  Fairy moss will survive a nuclear bombing, I think. I find it to be a noxious weed and would never put it in a pond. It will take over, but it sounds like you already know that.


To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Making the pond level

How can I raise the water level in my fish pond?

I dug a fish pond in my back yard but I didn't really do any calculations. one side of the pond is lower than the other. what can I put on the low side so i can raise the level of water up the higher side without it overflowing?

You can use bricks under the liner. Make them the height you need, then cover with soil. Now put the liner over them. I would also fold the liner over back toward the pond with flat rocks in between the two layers. If you do that all the way around the water will cover up all the liner and the pond looks completely natural.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Water hyacinth

When should I bring in my water hyacinth?
I have about 20 something water hyacinth in my koi pond. I want to keep them for next season also. When should I bring them indoors? I live in maryland.  Also what can I do to make them grow great, like what nutrients should I add to their water? Is it safe to pluck their nast,y mushy stem and leaves, or should I leave them be? 


Answer:
Take off all the mushy stems and leaves before you bring them in. Add only a dechlorinator to the water inside. Since they need full sun to grow, they may well go dormant before next spring, but they will come back. Bring them in when the nights begin reaching temps of 55º at night.

If the water they are in gets too unbearable, pack them in damp sand and leave them in the garage.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

Pond needs

What do I need to know before making a pond?

I have a 15 gallon tank with 5 fish and they are all really small.  I know for a fact they are going to get really big so I was thinking about making a pound in out yard in a spot where there are no power or water lines and keeping the big fish out there and raising the smaller ones inside until they get big enough to go in the pond.  Keep in mind i'm only gonna make it 10ft long 7ft wide and the deepest part about 9ft.

Do you have any tips on a pond?

Answer:

First of all, you don't need a pond 9' deep. Depending on where you live, 18" to 3 feet is usually deep enough. Your frost line (You can find out how deep your frost line is by calling your county extension service), determines how deep your pond needs to be. You will want to dig deeper than yours is.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com