Fall Leaves in Water Feature
Fall is a good time to do a few maintenance steps to your water feature in preparation for the upcoming winter months.
One major benefit to a “pondless” or “disappearing” water feature such as this one in our front yard, is that Fall cleanup and winter prep is extremely simple. Just remove the leaves that have accumilated at the base of the falls and any leaves (or pine needles) in the falls. It’s not as imperative to get all the leaves out of a pondless water feature as it is in a pond situation because a pond has a ecosystem that needs to remain balanced and falling leaves and debris release toxins as they decay.
If you have pond plants, now is a good time to cut off all of the green foliage and if they are in pots, sink them to the deepest part of your pond. It is best to trim these plants in the fall for the same reason as trying to get the decaying leaves off the bottom before winter. Aquatic Plants, when growing are important natural pond filtration. When these plants begin to die for the season, their foliage if allowed to remain in the pond, will also release toxins that create algea blooms in the spring and possible water quality that may jepordize fish health as well.
