This is a guide for those with a soft pond liner. If you have a hard pond liner, you have many less steps to take, which can be found easily online. Make sure that you check which type of liner you have before you begin to winterize your pond.

The first thing you'll do is to empty half the water from your pond. This is done by removing the hose connected to your pump, and attaching a different hose that feeds away from your pond. You do this to make your fish, plants, and any debris easier for you to see and remove.

Next, you must remove your potted plants, an important step when winterizing a water garden pond. You must also trim your plant, to ensure that the leaves will not die over the winter and fall into the water, dirtying your pond and creating an unhealthy environment for the fish.

Remember not to re-pot the plants until the spring, and doing so in the fall will hurt them. You must also remember to cut your water lilies to their base, and again, if they need replanting, save that task for the spring months.

Your next step is to catch your fish, and place them in buckets filled with pond water. This will make your next step, removing any debris, much easier. Make sure to remove it all for the health of your fish, but remember you can use it as mulch!

Next, place your plants back in the pond. Leave them in at least one and a half feet of water that will remain under the freezing line. As long as you have hardy plants, and your water is at least three feet deep, they will survive. Next, you can return your hose to its pump.

Your final step when winterizing a water garden pond is to return your fish to their pond. Stop feeding them when the temperature hits fifty degrees, and begin again when it reaches fifty five. Make sure that you maintain a hole in the ice all winter, creating it by using a hot pan, and not by chipping at the ice.