Operate Pond and Falls in Appalachian Winter?

[Gordo33]

In winter, in nature, lots of waterfalls and streams freeze. The plants come back.

Let me clarify my concern with the plants in the stream. First, The depth of the stream is 2-3" and has a EPDM liner with river rocks. The roots therefore run horizontal across the liner unlike nature the roots can not decend into the earth and have access to moisture. Second if the stream was frozen throughout the winter I would not be concerned about the plants return during the spring. My concern is the stream bed drying out if pump is off since my zone doesn't go into full winter freezes. My thought is the roots would dry out and the plants would die if there was not enough moisture to keep the plants alive. My pond doesn't represent nature so I am trying to figure out what will work best to maximize it's survival.

So if anyone can tell me if the plants can survive in my man made set up vs what goes on in nature I would greatly appreciate your in sight. Thanks

 

[Lisak1]

My experience has been that the plants (roots primarily) need to stay below the ice. My marginal plants freeze solid in my pond and waterfall but come back year after year. The only year we lost all our plants was when we shut off the waterfall. In our pond design, turning off the waterfall allows the water level to drop around 6-8 inches, leaving the plants completely exposed. Everything died.

So in my experience, the plants don't need the moisture as much as they need the protection. If you choose to shut down your stream you may want to try heavily mulching your stream bed. Burlap covered with straw would be one idea.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Let me clarify my concern with the plants in the stream. First, The depth of the stream is 2-3" and has a EPDM liner with river rocks. The roots therefore run horizontal across the liner unlike nature the roots can not decend into the earth and have access to moisture. Second if the stream was frozen throughout the winter I would not be concerned about the plants return during the spring. My concern is the stream bed drying out if pump is off since my zone doesn't go into full winter freezes. My thought is the roots would dry out and the plants would die if there was not enough moisture to keep the plants alive. My pond doesn't represent nature so I am trying to figure out what will work best to maximize it's survival.

So if anyone can tell me if the plants can survive in my man made set up vs what goes on in nature I would greatly appreciate your in sight. Thanks

Given this description of your current configuration, If you stop the water flow to the stream the plants will likely not survive regardless of the season. Pot up plants.Then you would be the best judge as to whether or not to bring them inside..

 

[morewater]

Let me clarify my concern with the plants in the stream. First, The depth of the stream is 2-3" and has a EPDM liner with river rocks. The roots therefore run horizontal across the liner unlike nature the roots can not decend into the earth and have access to moisture. Second if the stream was frozen throughout the winter I would not be concerned about the plants return during the spring. My concern is the stream bed drying out if pump is off since my zone doesn't go into full winter freezes. My thought is the roots would dry out and the plants would die if there was not enough moisture to keep the plants alive. My pond doesn't represent nature so I am trying to figure out what will work best to maximize it's survival.

So if anyone can tell me if the plants can survive in my man made set up vs what goes on in nature I would greatly appreciate your in sight. Thanks

Looks like you're beat for the plants due to the design. So you've got three choices, remove and store the plants for the winter, let the plants croak and then replace, or run the stream and waterfall all winter long and pray that you don't get an ice dam and empty the pond.