It’s that time of year

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It’s amazing to live in Tennessee..... if you you don’t like the weather today, just wait for tomorrow..... we went from high 80’s to the low this morning of 36...... so my pond temperature went from low 80’s to 61 this afternoon, so needless to say didn’t bother to feed the fish..... they are swimming around in slow motion. I think the sudden temperature change affects them more, because in the spring when the water temperature gets to 60 they are jumping in the air wanting to be fed..... so my cutoff point for feeding has been 60 degrees.... until next week.... back into the 80’s again.... LoL
 
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We had a big temp drop too. Koi still active and wanting to be fed, I fed them a little less than usual.
 

addy1

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Our mornings are in the low 40's the days in the mid 70's. Grooming lilies in the pond is my next job.

Last lily flower in the hot tub pond. I groomed them but left this one bud.

20191012_130618.jpg
 
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We are slowly moving in that direction in GA. We were in the high 90s last week. Now we will have some days with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s. Things are still growing well -- actually, probably better now that the blast furnace has turned off. I need to have my teenager hold up the net for me so I can get in and groom things. I just love the change of seasons! I think I'd enjoy living further north even more -- but the growing season is longer here, which is nice.
 

addy1

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My big pond in dropping down down in temp With the night in the high 30's low 40's and the bog running it is cooling the pond fast. I need to groom the lilies then let the bog clean the pond again after I stir everything up. Next on my list of winter prep.
 
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Thanks for your help. I'll take good advice from anyone!

I can't do that without wading around in the pond. I'll have to get up my courage before venturing into that cold water. I guess I'm overdue for some waders.

Thanks again.
 
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I waited too long again this year - no way I'm getting into that cold pond! - so I'll be using one of these tree pruners. It's definitely not what it was intended to be used for but it works great!

I should add - some people do use waders and I could see how that would be extremely helpful. But since I'd only need them once or twice a year, I'm too cheap to buy them! Others have their lily pots rigged so they can pull them up and out of the water for trimming - my pots get way too heavy I've found, but that's smart, too. And there is a tool that's designed for this purpose - but again, I'm not into one time use items. So I'll continue to dual purpose this one:

fiskars-tree-pruners-92347935-64_1000.jpg
 
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That's a great idea! I may have to steal that one.

I get into my pond about once a month to fertilize the lilies, so I should probably just buck up and buy some waders. It rarely feels warm enough in there, even in mid summer.

And I agree with you. My pots are too heavy to hoist in and out. I have to have help to do that, so mostly I just avoid it.
 
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I love getting in the pond on a hot summer day... and I've even gotten in on a cool fall day. But there are times when it's just.too.cold!
 

addy1

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Yep cut them back to just the tiny leaves, add litter if needed. I have a grabber that I grab the pots with and just pull them out of the pond. This pond has a walk out area so I can pull the lilies from deep to shallow. I need to groom mine hard to do when they are still blooming. They are all in oil pans which pull out real easy.

But soon! I cut, pull the plant mass up dump around 1/4 cup osmocote in the pot, put the plant back down, add litter if needed and sink them to around 2 feet deep water. Just in case we have a cold winter.
 
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I've noticed one of my lilies has heaved out of the pot and the top is exposed. It hasn't been putting out as many leaves either. I'm guessing it is time to divide and repot? Hopefully it will survive as is until spring, when I will hopefully have the new pond ready! (Crossing my fingers!)
Here is a question: If it is still growing time, should I still cut back, in anticipation of the cold? Cut off almost all the leaves? Or just cut back the grungy ones?
 

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