Plants
At this point in the season you should stop fertilizing your pond plants. Any hardy plants that are starting to die back should be trimmed up so that the pond is not polluted by decaying plant material. All tropical pond plants should be brought inside if the temperature drops below 5°C. Water Hyacinth and Lettuce should be discarded as soon as they start to turn brown.
Fish
As the temperature begins to decline, you should feed your fish less frequently. Start by reducing feeding to once a day, then to once every two days and so on. Bradford Greenhouses offers a variety of spring/autumn fish food. Pond Care and Laguna offer wheat germ and spirulina fish foods that are available in different size pellets and bags. The spring and autumn food contains more wheat germ than the standard all season food which makes the food easier to digest in lower temperatures. You should also start to think about purchasing a pond de-‐icer or aerator to keep an open hole for gas exchange during the winter months. The Laguna Aeration kit works perfectly for keeping an open hole in the ice. Alternatively Bradford Greenhouses offers a wide variety of heaters/de-‐icers in the fall months.
Pond in General
If you believe that the pond should be cleaned before winter, now is the best time to do so. If you have a large amount of algae (green water specifically) and plan on winterizing fish, our pond staff will be happy to show you some solutions. If your pond is near any deciduous trees you may want to consider covering your pond with a net, to prevent leaves from rotting in your pond over the winter. Bradford Greenhouses offers netting in multiple pre-‐cut sizes from 7’X10’ to 20’X30’. We also carry bulk netting that is 4m wide by your desired length.
Note
If it is an unusually warm September you should hold off until the end of the month or early October for most of the winter prep.