Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations structure

Hello, I was wondering if it was nessasary to let the needles fall off pine trees or cedar trees before putting them into our pond? The pond is about 1/2 acre.We are located in steuben county in NY and the snow is going to start flying anytime..Any advice would be greatly apreciated..

Naw, them needles will fall off just fine after you put the trees in the pond.

Seriously, though, the needles that fall off before they go in the pond won't be contributing to the organic debris load in the water. That's good. The needles that stay on after they go in the pond will increase the small surface area available for plants and invertabrates to grow on. That's good too. I have never seen the Xmas trees I put in the pond after doing so, to know if needles will stay on longer in the pond than they would on dry land; maybe someone else knows.

Pine trees have a 4-5 year effective lifetime as structure before they decay in water, IIRC. I can't remember if anyone has given an expected lifetime for cedar - maybe it's longer. I bet most of us don't wait for the needles to fall off, but just stick 'em in the pond when we get the chance.

Theo, my cedars have been in the water for 4 years and are doing just fine. They attract moss, the moss attracts bugs and the bluegill eat well. So do I when I get time to go fishin.

Thanks alot guy, I realy apreciate the info..

I think it depends on the pond. I use a lot of xmas trees (30 to 50 a year). After they go in the pond first the needles will disappear after a few mths. Next the small limb ends and twigs will decay ( 1 year) then the limbs (2-5) years and last the trunk. So over time they go from good small BG cover to a trunk with a few limb stubs that a LMB can hide next to.

I don't try to get the needles off but do shake them to get dry ones off. They sink better/faster when green with no dry needles. They can be manipulated to attract what you want by cutting off some branches. If for yoy BG then leave all limbs , if for 2-4 in BG the cut out about 30% of the limbs to create space , 50% for adult BG and small LMB. There are a # of ways to keep them in place , arrange them and create structure - from a single tree near BG beds for yoy to hide in to large deep water piles from bottom to top (modified Ray Scott method).