Easing into spring, you’re likely looking forward to putting your green thumb to work. With images in your head of colorful plants and flowers in full bloom, lush green, healthy grass and your idyllic private pond is ready to be shown off—or is it?

By performing some essential pond maintenance, you can be confident your amazing oasis is prepared for the days leading into Spring.

Any of the steps you took to winterize your pond can essentially be reversed as you begin pond maintenance for spring. First, though, take a close look at the pond and its surroundings. Assess the area to make sure no damage occurred during winter. If so, you’ll need to have these repaired before preparing the water for spring.

The first step anyone should take is to clean the pond. Even if you laid leaf netting over it to prevent leaves from decomposing in the water over the winter (and possibly harming fish in the process), a few remaining leaves might have fallen through. You can either remove this and other debris manually with a pond net, or use a pond vacuum to gently suck up algae, dead plants, and other muck. Spring is also the time to trim back any foliage from water plants such as Lilies and Iris.

If your pond has a skimmer or biological filter, now is the time to clean and replace any filter pads. 

If you've turned your pump off and disconnected it during winter, the first step is to turn it back on when the water reaches a temperature of at least 50 degrees. It’s a good idea to watch the process begin when you first turn the pump on—you want to make sure it’s pumping properly directly into the water feature. 

Once the water is temperate, test it for its nitrate and ammonia levels. Both of these are known to cause the death of your fish, so it’s important to ensure the water is safe and both of these have zero levels during testing. You may want to use pond salt to keep fish healthy throughout the season and prevent infections, which are common. You can also feed the fish and fertilize any plants once the water is consistently above 50 degrees.

By performing proper pond maintenance during the early days of spring, you can enjoy a lively, healthy, and elegant water feature that stays fresh throughout the season and into the summer and fall. All this hard work will pay off—and your water garden will be visible proof.

Specialty Water Gardens & Landscapes is the leading landscape and water garden company in Columbia, Missouri. If you’re ready to prepare your pond for spring, get in touch with their team today to find out more about their water feature and koi pond spring and fall clean out program. Visit the website, or call (573) 442-9027 to learn more.