Pond problems

Considering how beautiful they are, ponds take very little looking after. A regular sweep of the surface to remove debris and a scattering of feed for fish is usually all that's needed.

Occasionally, though, ponds run into problems. Our garden centre has all you need to solve them. Here's how:

Green water is caused by algae multiplying rapidly in sunshine or high nutrient levels. Add surface-shading plants like waterlilies and check there's no fertiliser leaching into the pond. Barley straw, available in our garden centre, helps clear algae too.

Blanket weed and duckweed: these troublesome weeds proliferate in over-rich water and sunlight. Remove duckweed with pond nets and twirl blanket weed around canes to pull it out. Dense planting out-competes the weeds: stock up from our garden centre.

Lack of oxygen has fish coming to the surface and gasping for air. Bump up oxygen levels with oxygenating plants, or by introducing a pump and fountain to aerate the water.

Winter freezing means oxygen can't get into the pond, putting fish and wildlife at risk. Breaking ice shocks fish, so instead, melt a hole in the ice with a saucepan of hot water.

Please ask the staff in our garden centre in Athlone for more information and advice about solving pond problems.