Welcome to Pondforum. Spring has finally arrived, so another edition of PF Quarterly is in order. When last I wrote, on March 21st, the company pond was buried under two feet of snow, but now it's come back to life and soon we'll be updating our company pond pictures with 2003 images. In this edition of PF Quarterly I will discuss overwintering fish, restarting the pond, and water lilies.

When I say that the pond is now back to life, that is not entirely true. In the last column, as I was contemplating the muffled and peaceful solitude of the frozen pond in which the fish were hibernating, they were in fact quite dead. As does occasionally happen, the spring thaw revealed a gruesome sight. This was somewhat surprising because the fish had overwintered successfully for the past two years and the snow cover was so thick that the ice should have been thinner than usual. What changed wasn't the pond, it was the fish. After two years, they had grown very large, almost ten inches long, and therefore their oxygen requirements became greater than the pond could support.

This is something fish-lovers should keep in mind. While we were sorry to see the fish go, consensus here was that it would be better to cultivate amphibians in the pond instead of fish anyway. The two can cohabitate, but the problem arises in early spring when the fish eat the frog spawn. Keep in mind that to encourage frogs to lay eggs in your pond, you should lay some twiggy branches along the edge of the pond, so that the frogs have something to which they can attach the eggs.

Restarting the pond is an easy task for most people. Excessive organic material should be removed, like old leaves, and the pump should be restarted. April and May are also good months to divide your water lilies if you haven't done so for two to three years. In general, perennials are very forgiving in early spring. If the tubers are split when the leaves are just beginning to sprout, the growth of your lilies should not be noticeably different as the season progresses, except that you will have more plants from the division. September/October are also oppportunities to divide, but it is harder on the lilies going into the winter, and you will have to look at disturbed plants all fall.

Pondforum's efforts at becoming the most popular site for water lilies has been very successful so far this year. Our quality standards and competitive pricing have led to a 15-fold increase in water lily sales, and we hope to maintain this kind of growth into the future.

What we forget about water lilies is that they are nature's water filtration system. Water lilies in particular are known for pulling large amounts of toxins out of the water, including heavy metals, and they are used by industry and government in wetlands around polluted areas for just this reason. In your pond they will absorb the nitrogen and block the sunlight that cause algae blooms. So before you invest in a new filter and UV system, consider buying a few more water lilies instead. You'll save money on products and electricity, and you'll make your water garden that much more beautiful.

We at Pondforum wish all of our customers and users a productive and happy summer of water gardening.

Best,

Rob Sheldon and the Pondforum Staff