Pond help

[Boutrosboutros]

I'm about to admit defeat with a small pond in the garden. It's in a shady spot but I think probably too shady. The first couple of years we got tadpoles and it seemed fine but it's gradually turned into just stagnant water. Doesn't matter how many oxygenators I throw in, everything just seems to die - even the duck weed has gone (and i throw in a lot as we have another pond elsewhere in the garden where they thrive). It's next to a hedge and it also gets clogged with leaves and apples in the autumn. I try to cover/scoop out but it doesn't seem to make much difference and if I'm honest I don't really have time to be going out daily to keep it clear in the autumn which it probably needs.

So my question is: does anyone have any great advice about what might help it back to health? Any shady pond plants? Or if not, what other good wildlife habitat might be worth putting in? It's part of the larger 'wild' garden which has the hedgerow, a trench, mounds and logpile etc already.

Thank you!

Or maybe I empty the whole thing out and start again with 'clean' water? I have plenty of rainwater in the butts. Would love to know what everyone else would advise!

If it's it the wrong position and too shady and keeps,clogging, I think I would consider making it into a bog garden,mat least you’ve got the other pond thriving.

firstly, I’d empty it, give it a good clean and start again. There are plenty of organic plant and wildlife friendly treatments you can add every few weeks to keep the water clear.

Do you have a pump to keep the water moving? Maybe get someone in to have a look at it and advise.

How long have you had the pond? Sounds like apart from shade, the issue is the amount of organic material that gets into it- especially apples which would really affect things. I can’t see a pond coping with shade plus a large amount of organic material unless it is big enough to take it. I don’t have a shady pond but it took a while for my pond to balance out (a couple of years really) because of my particular issues (too much sun in my case and need for plant coverage). I persevered and now have a wildlife pond I love. Otherwise I think a pump can solve some of your issues- friends who have ponds with pumps still get wildlife and tadpoles and have a pump- but I think it would not solve your rotting apple problem

I have a sink that nothing grows in because of too much shade, but I keep it because I do get the odd frog in it.

I have another pond under a weeping crab which isn’t great, but which does have newts.

I would drain the pond, refill with rainwater from the butts, plant with a water weed and not much else (you have enough shade, no need to make it shadier with water weed), and fashion a framework covered with net that you could put over the pond from August to November to catch the leaves and apples.

Can you crown lift the trees to let more light in?

Thanks for all the comments. It's a small pond, less than 1m x 1m and not really worth a pump or too much investment. It's about 7 years old and was fine for the first 3-4 years but has got worse recently. I think all these answers have been very clarifying - I've given the trees and hedge a hard prune, will replace most of the water and bung in a load of oxygenators and see what happens. Will aim to cover it in apple season which I think is the problem but if that doesn't work next winter I'll execute project Bog Garden!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their ideas!