Water Gardening

Wentworth offers a nice selection of Water Gardening Products by POND MASTER, SAVIO and others. We also grow a large selection of marginal and aquatic plants for your outdoor water garden. Visit Wentworth's and see our water feature and bring the kids to see our goldfish pond!

Spring is finally here. After the winter we've all had, it will be a pleaser to get out to the pond and begin to enjoy the tranquility that only a garden pond can offer. For those of you who haven't experienced the joy of having a water garden, NOW is the time to add one to your landscape. For those of you who already have one, here are a few tips to help you enjoy continued success with your garden pond.

General Pond Care

1. Clean out any debris that may have fallen into the pond over the winter.

2. If you didn't clean your pond in the fall, now is the time.

A. If you have fish, pump pond water into a container large enough to house your fish for a time.

B. Put some type of aeration device in holding tank and place fish in tank.

C. Pump out 75-80% of pond water, then turn off pump.

D. Scoop out as much debris as possible. A fish net makes the job fairly easy.

E. Turn filter on to remove any fine matter, rinsing pad often.

F. Fill pond with water, adding a dechlorinating agent such as Aqua Safe if your water does not come from a well.

G. Add salt to the water at a rate of 5 lbs/1000 gal. (use rock or pond salt) Note: Only add salt to the amount of water you are adding back to the pond.

H. Let water sit for a day for temperature to adjust. Add a medication such as Treats All to help reduce chance of disease, as the fish will be somewhat stressed, then reintroduce fish to the pond.

3. Start using your filter. Clean if necessary. Add Clear Pond to aid in production of beneficial bacteria.

Plant Care

1. If you submerged your marginal plants in the deep part of the pond for the winter, bring them up and put them on the shelf.

2. Some of your plants may need to be repotted or divided if they are growing out over the edge of their pots.

3. If you have waterlilies, lotus or iris, now is the time to start feeding with fertilizer tablets.

Fish Care

1. Start using monthly treatments of a medication to protect fish from diseases and parasites.

2. Begin feeding fish when they are actively swimming near the surface, usually when water temp. reaches 45-50 F.

3. Make sure pond is not overtstocked. You should have one inch of fish for every 3-5 gallons of water. More than this will require additional filtration.

Other Tips

1. When water temp. rises above 60 F, it is time to add floating plants to help prevent algae. Using a UV sterilizer can virtually eliminate algae problems and green water.

2. Add snails at the rate of one per 2 square feet of water surface to help reduce filamentous algae.

We hope these tips will help you make your water garden an enjoyable success. If you don't have a water garden yet, this is the perfect opportunity to put one in. If you already have one, this is the chance to add to your pond.