Ponds - When to Clean it Out

NewBoy2

I have a pond at home with mature yellow irises and it has been in situ for @ 11 years .........6 foot by 3 foot 

? When is the best time in the  season to take out the plants , reduce them , clean it and restock

There are still some tiny froglets in the grass on the lawn

Advice please friends

Fairygirl

Hi NewBoy - most people reckon autumn because of dormancy of plants. If it's mainly the irises that need splitting, I'd get them out now and divide them. It shouldn't do them any harm - they're pretty indestructible.

When you empty the pond, just get as much of the contents as possible into containers so that all the wildlife have a temporary home. Just remember that you need a certain amount of gunk in the bottom for all the creatures who live there. If it's building up too quickly, you may need to adjust the amount of oxygenators you have in it and also be wary of any debris that's adding to it. Leaves are the usual issue so net early enough to keep them at bay, and remove dead foliage from pond plants before they get a chance to settle at the bottom.

Fairygirl

You're right philippa - I should have commented on the emptying of the pond too, but I was in the same position myself with a neglected pond at my last house. You wouldn't have known there was a pond it was so choked with debris. Good management is the key - keeping excess stuff from getting in.

Hopefully NewBoy will be able to keep on top of that in future 

Fairygirl

Sometimes it's damage limitation philippa!

My ex partner had no idea there was a pond there. We had a big pond that fed into this one, but this just looked like an overgrown bed.