My Pond

[Verinda]

This is my pond, disgraceful I know but life and illness has got in the way. Anyway I now feel its time to rescue the poor duckweed infested mess and restore it to a beautiful clean, delightful pond with new plants and lots of wildlife...hopefully!

My question, if I remove all the duckweed, leaves and whatever else, I won't be able to buy any oxygenating pond plants till next March at the earliest. Will the water be ok till then with no cover? Or maybe it will turn green.

I'ts also still full of tadpoles and tiny frogs so I will have to try not to upset them.



Ps the life ring is not for me I've been keeping the middle clear of duckweed so it isn't completely smothered.

[Guest]

I would leave it till march time as bugs and beasties will now be thinking of hiding

[Verinda]

But by March it will be absolutely full of tadpoles making it impossible to clear. What do other people do

[Bigmallly]

Does duckweed not die off in winter? Am asking as I don't know.

[Verinda]

Maybe a bit but it's mostly indestructible ):

[Bigmallly]

This is an extract I have just read in an article:

"Duckweed growth slackens off considerably in winter, and this is a good time to scoop out as much as you can with a fine nylon net"

[Scarlet]

Well, I always clear my pond in the Autumn, I get tons of leaves in it. I don't like to disturb babies in Spring is there really a good time? This is my problem..... I leave everything cos I don't want to disturb the wildlife! I wouldn't worry about buying any new plants just yet. Drag some of the duck weed to the side to clear it, leave it on the side and the frogs and wildlife will get back in
Is it very shaded by over hanging trees? I think duck weed doesn't grow so well if you can get some light on the pond....chop back some trees!

[Bigmallly]

I'm netting mine on a daily basis. I don't have duckweed but am surrounded by trees.

[Verinda]

It's not shady at all despite the trees. My duckweed never seems to let up even in winter, I have decided to try and clear every single speck, there used to be lovely plants in the pond but now there is only duckweed.
I know tadpoles can over winter but there does seem to be rather a lot and so many tiny frogs you'd think they would have left the pond by now.

No there's no good time to clear a wildlife pond so I guess I'll just have to go for it. Thank you for your help

[Bigmallly]

Put the duckweed in a bowl near the pond, any frogs can then jump out. It'll just be a matter of checking for taddies.

[Verinda]

I'm scooping out duckweed and leaves by hand now the net was abandoned because there's too many tadpoles and teeny frogs.

I have a lily in another pond, well it's an old trailer I turned into a pond. The lily is pretty big so I thought I'd attempt to take some cuttings, has anyone tried this?

[roitelet]

I have a lily in another pond, well it's an old trailer I turned into a pond. The lily is pretty big so I thought I'd attempt to take some cuttings, has anyone tried this?

Just chop a bit of root off and replant it, simple!

[Verinda]

Ooh is it that easy, great I'll get chopping tomorrow thank you roitelet.

[jackarmy]

You have tadpoles in october ?

It is much easier to clean in the winter. No worries about green water as the sun is not strong enough and the algae cant be bothered untill spring.

[Verinda]

Yes lots of tadpoles and some of them are giant tadpoles, there's half developed frogs too. It occurred to me that I can't take out all the duckweed or the tadpoles which are presumably going to overwinter in the pond won't have anything to hide under.