Spring Pond Care

Gardengates | Mar 11, 2011 |

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Keep your pond the sparkling gem of your landscape design with proper care.

In the spring, garden ponds warm up and come back to life. This is one of the most important times for pond care. If you help your pond wake up with a little extra attention you are less likely to have problems later on in the season. When ponds are newly built they usually take a couple of years to reach balance where everything flows together naturally. Ironically, new ponds need very little care before reaching balance. It gets trickier when, after reaching balance, you need to keep it that way. That basically means that you want to keep the water clean, aerated, and neither too acid nor too alkaline. You also want to make sure no pollutants get in the water, especially if you have fish living in your pond. If you don’t have fish, you need to make sure your pond doesn’t breed mosquitoes. Here are some of the best ways to give your water feature the pond spring care it needs to look and function its best.

Clean up all dead leaves, sticks or other materials that may have entered the pond during the winter.
Test pumps and lines early in the spring for smooth functioning, cracks or leaks.
Feed fish with winter food once the water temperature goes above 50’F.
Clean and divide water plants and set them at the best levels for summer growth.
Keep a careful watch on your fish for signs of disease: growths, white dots, fluff or film, lesions or attached threads that are actually parasitic worms. Use a pond water treatment right away if you see any abnormal signs.
If you see the pond water getting cloudy or turning thick and green, chances are you are getting a normal springtime ‘green water’ bloom. This is a tiny alga that fills the water as temperatures rise. The fish actually love to eat this nourishing algae and it will clear up on its own as the water continues to warm. But you can also use an algaecide that will clear your water if you don't want to wait.

Build your pond solidly and make an extra effort to keep it healthy in the spring, and you will have a stunning garden feature. A healthy pond is all about keeping it clean and functioning well. If you catch problems early there are plenty of fixes, repairs and packaged treatments available to cure your issues. Taking the time to keep the water clean, the fish healthy and the plants well tended will help your pond look great and function well as the season continues.