Water Hyacinth bloom....

[Mmathis]

I so seldom have blooms on my WH -- I never noticed how intricate the pattern was. This isn't a good detail shot [iPhone on "zoom"], but it shows the various colors. Reminds me of a peacock feather [except with different colors, of course].

Not a good "detail" shot due to zoom, but better, more true image of the colors.....

Same flower, different time of day -- it was closer to me, so didn't have to zoom as much and got better detail.

And for some reason, I have an abundance of blooms now, where in the past there might have been one bloom all season. The plants are starting to die off as the season wears on, but what a nice show of flowers for an early Fall!

 

[tbendl]

They are stunning. Since mine have never bloomed, I've never seen one up close. Fingers crossed for next year.

 

[Mmathis]

They are stunning. Since mine have never bloomed, I've never seen one up close. Fingers crossed for next year.

Fingers crossed for you, too! I've read on GPF where folks talk about having or not having blooms, but I never realized just how LOVELY they were!

 

[tbendl]

Is this your first year with blooms TM? How many years have you had them?

 

[j.w]

They are lovely TM................they don't like me tho

 

[Mmathis]

Is this your first year with blooms TM? How many years have you had them?

My pond has just celebrated its 3rd summer season and have had WH each year. BUT, since WH is a tropical, I have to buy new plants every year.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

They need heat at nutrients. I have had lots of blooms in the past, but didn't get any at all this year, and we had lots of heat. Problem was the pond stayed pretty nutrient free, even the algae did poorly this year.
In my old pond I periodically added potash one year and my water hyacinth grew huge, some were nearly 4 ft from top to the bottom of the roots, and they bloomed like crazy.
Here is a time lapse videos I made of some of the blooms that year.

 

[Mmathis]

@Mucky_Waters Awesome and thanks for sharing that! Boy, when the blossoms get ready to open, they almost pop out!

I'd say we had a relatively cooler-than-usual summer this year as our temps weren't as high as past years. However, we had higher-than-usual heat index readings due to the humidity. So it's a toss-up.

 

[tbendl]

@Mucky_Waters that is incredible!! Wow. Thanks for sharing such a cool video.

 

[j.w]

I enjoyed that blooming video a bunch Mucky!

 

[addy1]

I had wh one summer, it was not until late summer they finally bloomed. I just don't bother with them any more

 

[Troutredds]

We had good blooming this year, but the problem for me is removal of the wh. They grow in eighteen inches of water on a concrete ledge, but the ledge bottom is lined with 6-8 in. river rocks. Now, when I pull them from the pond, I find their roots are so firmly anchored to the cobble bottom that it is Impossible to extract them without leaving broken roots behind. Oh well, they're pretty anyway, and provide four months of beneficial habitat for baby fish and aquatic insects here.

Does anyone know if koi or goldfish will eat these broken off hyacinth roots snagged in our river cobble? I've heard they do, but our fish showed no interest last year.

 

[j.w]

Red I can't believe how great they grow for you and not me. Maybe cuz you have them in shallow water where it might be warmer. do you throw any fertilizer in there or just let the fish do it for ya?

 

[Priscilla]

Here's mine. I don't have much luck with them. The plant nursery suggested I try putting them in soil this time. I haven't so doubt they will last.

I live in the perfect place for them, but they just don't do well in my pond. The nursery pond that I get them from is super shallow so they root in the soil in the bottom.

 

[j.w]

See I'm wondering if shallow is the key for some of us. But then others have them in just any old depth and they bloom like crazy.
Priscilla it is a beautiful flower