Promoting faster root growth

[KennethO]

So I was doing a test since our water lettuce roots couldn't keep up with the growth and rate we were shipping them out. Took a few real bad ones out and tossed them in a bucket with 3 pinches of Muriate of Potash. Pretty cool to see what a little bit of potash can do to the growth. And this was with just tap water not pond water. So no nitrates, just the potash. So this is about 1 week.

Plant 1

After

Plant 2

After

Plant 3

After

Plant 4

After

Top Views of 2. Lighter green since its in the sun more

 

[taherrmann4]

Wow that is pretty impressive.

 

[DrDave]

Great experiment!

 

[KennethO]

Our stock we had threw the winter was fine and doing great. Had plenty to get threw the season. But with that long heat wave people started buying them like crazy to shade and cool thier ponds. Since you break off the babies to get new plants they had to start growing thier own roots. Until then they had been using the parent plants for that. I was looking for a way to speed it up if we ever got low again.

Plant 2 is an example. It was pulled off of a large parent plant and had no major root system. Its about 3-4 inches around and in a week it would be large enough to ship out. But in no way were the roots ready. It would have killed over. Normally it would have 2-6 weeks to develop a nice system.

Yes I could have used miracle grow. But this was for a fish safe test and to prevent an algae bloom which MG would have definitely done. And since we do thousands of WL it would be unreasonable to take them out to place in buckets of fert.

 

[j.w]

I think I better buy my water lettuce from you next Spring Kenneth cuz the ones I bought are still yellow and small unless it is just the weather up here. How do I find your web-site?

 

[addy1]

I think I better buy my water lettuce from you next Spring Kenneth cuz the ones I bought are still yellow and small unless it is just the weather up here. How do I find your web-site?

Fishin sent a few water lettuce when I won the count the fish contest, I ended up with 4 tiny ones, when I looked for them only found two, gave them to a pond maven to see if she had any better luck with them.

 

[fishin4cars]

I was curious and just walked out and measured what i think is my biggest. right at 12" across. Addy, your hyacinths took off and all mine dies, your lettuce didn't do good and mine took off and got super big this year!

 

[KennethO]

Our hyacinth are like 2 foot tall too. Are there different size varieties? Like the low growing and the taller ones? Most of the ones I see other people have are small, just the bulbs and like 1 inch stem and leaves. Ours has like 6-8inch leaves and are just as big if not bigger than the pickerel rush.

 

[addy1]

I was curious and just walked out and measured what i think is my biggest. right at 12" across. Addy, your hyacinths took off and all mine dies, your lettuce didn't do good and mine took off and got super big this year!

They have done great fishin, the water lettuce just never took off, the two i gave away were maybe 2 inches in size.

Our hyacinth are like 2 foot tall too. Are there different size varieties? Like the low growing and the taller ones? Most of the ones I see other people have are small, just the bulbs and like 1 inch stem and leaves. Ours has like 6-8inch leaves and are just as big if not bigger than the pickerel rush.

There are seven different varieties kenneth, I picked up the low growing kind, well that is what the site said, and so far it is staying on the short size.

The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals. When not in bloom, water hyacinth may be mistaken for frog's-bit (Limnobium spongia).

 

[KennethO]

Thanks.

 

[j.w]

Glad to know it's just not me addy and my lousy weather. It's really nice and warm here now so plants should really pick up now. I may try taking my water lettuce out and giving them the Miracle grow bath for awhile. I don't have Muriate of Potash, at least I don't think I do but I will check in my garden shed.