First winter zone 5a... then what?

[frogbath]

After reading some of the threads on this forum and realizing folks in much colder spots than me were able to keep their ponds running all year I decided to do the same. To account for this I got a slightly larger pump than I needed during the build out as my thought was that would ensure enough water was moving fast enough to prevent freezing the pond solid; especially at the mouth of my intake bay.

I'm happy to report thanks to all the amazing information on this site my first winter has so far been drama free! Though there have been a few storms and cold nights where I've thought, "that bay must have frozen". But nope. The fish all seem to be alive and no flow issues at all. I'm unsure how the frogs and plants are :fingers_crossed:

I'm not planning to feed the fish anything until the water is significantly warmer. But I am wondering what if anything should I be doing or getting ready for once winter starts wrapping up? I've heard folks say their bog starts waking up earlier in spring than they expected. I only got a couple plants in before the winter started, are there any bog plants that should be planted at the very end of winter (in dirt gardening what I'd call "as soon as the soil can be worked")?

 

[addy1]

Bog plants don't really care when you plant them, they do just fine and take off

 

[callingcolleen1]

I leave my pumps run all winter and all my pumps and filters under the water and it works great for me in Canada. I now also cover ponds with cold frame as that keeps pond from freezing hard here in Canada. I discovered the heater breaker went out and ponds ran nicely vin -36 below weather and not much ice under plastic cold frames. You probably don't need cold frames in zone 5 and your video was great!

 

[brokensword]

like most plants, they'll take off as the temps rise and the fish once again provide some fertilizer. There are some plants like water hawthorn which likes to bloom in colder seasons and goes dormant in the heat of summer. Research the ones you like and as soon as you're able to do some 'planting', go for it.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm in zone 6 a and my pond is still covered in ice. The air bladder has kept an opening all winter. With the exception of 24 hours after a w foot snow storm. But 24 hours latter the bladders had a hole opened.
I just checked the pond and I was shocked to see the ice was literally around a foot thick. I don't think it was due to cold as much as it was all tge snow. View attachment 136733

 

[frogbath]

Thanks for sharing yall! I'm looking forward to seeing what made it this spring and planting some more bog plants to get that area really established. It's funny how the snow and ice mix into that slushsy mass.

The sap has been running the last several days around here so my pond has completely defrosted already. Still running and all the fish made it so far.

 

[poconojoe]

I like Marsh Marigold. I cut it back before winter and it comes back bigger every year. Nice yellow flowers. Very hardy plant. I'm in zone 6a.