Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations structure

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.