once a waterlily has died

by d young
(luton U.K/.)

should water lilies be cut back in the winter once they have died off or should i just let them die naturally and if so will the debris cause problems on the pond floor.


Doug says that you can remove the dead leaves from the plant once winter temperatures and light levels have killed off this season's growth. And you are likely going to have to clean out the bottom of the pond in the spring (or fall) in any case. So many folks just do it all in one cleaning operation.

Leaving large amounts of organic debris in ponds "can" create problems with overwintering fish. The decaying organic matter can consume a great deal of oxygen and if the pond freezes over (not too likely in the UK for extended periods as in North America) then the water can become oxygen deficient and the fish will suffer.

Bottom line - plan on cleaning out the pond in the fall for best-practices maintenance.