Winterizing Bog

[jbowyers]

Hi

I have a 700 gal pond with a bog on one end. The bog has a coiled flexible hose with holes in it that feeds the bog. My question is, should I turn off flow to the bog during winter?

I am in the pacific northwest a block from the ocean and winters are quite mild (zone 8). We do get an occasional thin layer of ice on the pond but can keep the waterfall ruining all year without issue. My concern with leaving the bog hose flowing is it might cool the roots of the bog plants too much. My concern with turning off the bog flow is the buildup of ammonia in the bog over the winter.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[addy1]

The roots of the plants will be fine. Mine freeze solid and come back. I would leave it running esp in your climate zone.

 

[j.w]

@jbowyers I am in pretty much the same zone as you in Washington and I don't have a bog but I have plants in pots about 18" down on a ledge and they do fine w/my falls running and moving the water around.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I live in a mild-winter climate. I let my bog run all year, and have never had an issue.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My concern with leaving the bog hose flowing is it might cool the roots of the bog plants too much. My concern with turning off the bog flow is the buildup of ammonia in the bog over the winter.

I turn mine off each winter, but I'm zone 5. The water that remains in the bog freezes solid and the hardy plants come back just fine each year.

 

[jbowyers]

I turn mine off each winter, but I'm zone 5. The water that remains in the bog freezes solid and the hardy plants come back just fine each year.

It's not cold enough here for the roots to freeze. I am really just wondering if the roots would be warmer/better off without the flow and if ammonia buildup is really an issue once the temperature drops below 50 deg

 

[MitchM]

@jbowyers , roots are always better with flowing well oxygenated water.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm in 5B and keep my bog running all winter. I think a lot depends on your individual set up and whether ice is an issue. If you get ice build up you could conceivably have a problem with water being diverted out of the pond.

 

[Stephen T.]

"If you get ice build up you could conceivably have a problem with water being diverted out of the pond."

You sure can! I went out a couple winters ago to find a real icy mess outside the pond and partially collapsed 3-4" ice with my pond down by over a foot. since then, once it starts really freezing up, I shut down the pump. My bog freezes solid, but the plants (all natives) come back stronger than ever in the spring.

 

[Koi4JT]

Hi

I have a 700 gal pond with a bog on one end. The bog has a coiled flexible hose with holes in it that feeds the bog. My question is, should I turn off flow to the bog during winter?

I am in the pacific northwest a block from the ocean and winters are quite mild (zone 8). We do get an occasional thin layer of ice on the pond but can keep the waterfall ruining all year without issue. My concern with leaving the bog hose flowing is it might cool the roots of the bog plants too much. My concern with turning off the bog flow is the buildup of ammonia in the bog over the winter.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

I have a larger pond, perhaps twice your size with a 100 gallon pea gravel semi-underground bog and I run my pump all year long. I live in Richmond, VA and it does get cold enough to freeze over the top 1/2" of the pond each winter. The bog however never seems to freeze over and the plants (mostly grasses) could care less. Perhaps too much moving water. Hope this helps.

 

[Pond skipper]

I'm in 5B and keep my bog running all winter. I think a lot depends on your individual set up and whether ice is an issue. If you get ice build up you could conceivably have a problem with water being diverted out of the pond.

Hi, is your bog really deep? I’m supposedly in 5b and my bog and whole pond freeze solid in winter but both are only about 2.5-3 feet deep. I’m still trying to figure out what to plant in it that will survive the winter.

 

[Lisak1]

Hi, is your bog really deep? I’m supposedly in 5b and my bog and whole pond freeze solid in winter but both are only about 2.5-3 feet deep. I’m still trying to figure out what to plant in it that will survive the winter.

Our bog is deep - about 4 feet. But any hardy plant will survive freezing in the pond or bog - the depth of the pond or bog doesn't matter. The plants are no deeper in a 2 foot deep bog than they are a 4 feet deep bog, right? They all grow at the depth that they grow. I mean, the earth is infinitely deep, but plant roots in the soil only go so deep.

But the secret is to keep the water (ice) level where it normally is when the pond is not frozen. The plants do not like being exposed to the air. The first year we shut the pond down for the winter, and in our pond that causes our water level to drop about 5 or 6 inches. Add in evaporation and we lose another couple inches, leaving all the plants exposed - they all died. Since we started running the pond year round, we've never lost a plant to winter.

I'm going to question your comment that your 2.5 to 3 foot pond froze solid - how many gallons is it? Is it in ground or above ground?

 

[addy1]

I turn everything off, the bog drains back down to pea gravel level. The pea gravel is never dry and it does freeze. The pond has never loss enough water to cause issues. I have gutters feeding water into the pond every time it rains or snow melts.

 

[Pond skipper]

Thanks for the replies, I can’t remember exactly but I think it’s about 3000 gal. Except I guess minus a bit for the displacement by the pea gravel in the bog which is smallish about 6x2.5-3 ‘ and Sits at the bottom of a waterfall which spills out of a bio filter (garbage can type) the whole pond is in between ground about 3/4 -1 foot is above ground and the rest is below. I ran into way more roots than I thought I would and had to scrap my plans for a 4-5 foot deep pond so I pilled the excavation dirt around the perimeter and viola. The biggest drag is that the fish have to come in every year.. broke my leg and ankle trying to catch the little buggers last year! ..I too have rain barrels that fill from the gutters and auto fill the pond as needed. The thing is, my bog plants die off every year.. I’ve only had some creeping jenny come back one year but never again.. just trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m not much of a gardener and would never touch plants if not for my pond though lol my wife and I both seem to have black thumbs

 

[Lisak1]

I turn everything off, the bog drains back down to pea gravel level. The pea gravel is never dry and it does freeze. The pond has never loss enough water to cause issues. I have gutters feeding water into the pond every time it rains or snow melts.

Our two different pond designs definitely prove that there's no one answer as to what works!

broke my leg and ankle trying to catch the little buggers last year!

Oh my gosh - that's terrible! Here's the thing - if you have two feet of pond underground, your fish are most likely fine in the pond over winter. We've seen SO MANY PONDS in the Chicago area that are only 2 feet deep with both goldfish and koi that stay outside all winter long. They just don't freeze that deep. Post some pictures of your pond - let's see what you have going on there!

Your description of a bog has me wondering - is this an up flow bog? Or a down flow - from the sound of it, your waterfall spills into the "bog" which isn't really a bog the way we think of them here on the GPF. The wetland filter that many of us have - @addy1 and myself for instance - are bogs where the water is pushed UP through the gravel. Which is yours?

What kind of plants are you planting in your bog? Maybe we can suggest some that would do better!