Water Hyacinth??

[Karen]

I'm adding plants to my newly build pond. It's 2000 gals. The Water Hyacinth grows "wild" here where I live. Most people don't like it because it's so invasive, taking over our water ways, rivers, etc.....But I've read it's great for "clearing up" a pond. So I'm wondering if any of you have this plant in your pond? Do you like it? Also....How many plants do you really need in a pond? I can get as much of this plant as I need....free.

 

[Bart]

I am pretty new to ponds myself but I am also putting Water Hyacinths in my pond. From what I have read, the general rule is to put enough to cover about 60% of the surface of your water. I am also from SE Tex and I have looked all over the bayous around here and I have not found any hyacinths as of yet. Maybe it is a little early for them. So I have had to order some plants.
I hope this helps a little

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Hyacinths do a good job of ting up the extra nutrients in the water that algae feeds off of, plus they shade the sides and bottom of your pond, starving the algae of sunlight. On top of that, they provide shade for your fish and help hide them from predators. Also I have seen both koi and goldfish nibbling at the roots.

Be careful about ordering the plants in your area. Because hyacinths grow VERY fast, they are choking out the waterways in many of the Southern states, and are banned from import because they are classified as a noxious weed.

The good news is they are very easy to control in an enclosed pond. They make good fertilizer, so when my pond gets full in the Summer, I will clear out a bunch of hyacinths, chop them up with the lawnmower, and throw them on my garden.

I just wish I could find a way to keep some over the Winter here. It costs me $3-$5 per plant to restock every Spring, and I would need to grow them indoors for about 6 months out of the year. Any suggestions?

 

[fishin4cars]

Very beneficial plant for ponds, Great to keep clear water, remove nitrates, and provide shade, and protection for smaller fish. They do have a couple of drawbacks, There roots can play havoc on a filter, if you keep koi they will eat they roots even at a young age and these pieces will clog a pre-filter so that needs to be kept an eye on, just remove any that get caught that don't have plants attached, Also, they will die back at first frost, once this takes place it's best to remove them completely as they will die, rot and cause problems. great thing about them though as they have a beautiful lavender bloom.
Now, another tip. If you collect them from the wild it is best if you keep them in clean water for several days before adding them to your pond, I grab a whole pod of plants, bring them home and place in a small kids swimming pool or similar container with just a few inches of water, about every two days rinse the roots and plants and change out the water. Once you have done this three or four times break of the smaller plants and put those in your pond. why? first off if the main plant has young probabilities, It's done blooming, that's where the babies come from, babies have smaller root systems so they hold less things trapped in them that may get introduced to your pond. which is why you wanted to do all that rinsing and cleaning. You want to introduce as little as possible into your pond as possible, inspect and remove the snails, Your going to get them sooner or later, you have a new pond so lets try and keep them down as long as possible, snails can introduce parasites, also you want to do this to keep mosquito fish out of your pond. now this little guy has good beneficial traits but one super big issue, they are great for controlling mosquito larvae, they can over populate your pond in one or two seasons! And they are hard has heck to get rid of once they start breeding. So again that's what your trying to keep out. I don't know about covering a full 60% with these, but if you keep 40%-60% of your ponds surface covered with some plant leaves such as hyacinths' lilies, water lettuce, etc. etc. your pond will stay cooler and clearer and healthier. that's for certain!

 

[vertigo72]

Can you bring them indoors for the winter? I have a small greenhouse thats kept just above freezing during winter, where I put all my plants that arent winterhard. If I put a container with water, is there any chance Ill keep hyacints (and water lettuce and anything else floating)? Likewise, any chance of growing these indoors, with very little direct sunlight, so I can grow them in spring in my house while my pond is still too cold?

BTW, I envy your warm climate. It takes until june or so before my pond is warm enough for any of these plants to thrive. I have some water lettuce and hyacinths in there right now, but they are withering away from the cold . Its basically only iris and lillies that grow there now, they dont seem to mind cold very much.

 

[addy1]

They don't like being below 50 degrees F so they most likely would not like just above freezing. There is no harm in trying though.

 

[fishin4cars]

It's worth trying, I have had some success doing that but they still die way back and get pretty funky, Trick is to remove out the mush and keep a small air stone running in the container, also if possible place the container in the center of the greenhouse, The temp stays warmer and more stable in the center than closer to the outside edges of the green house. What you will need to try to keep is the ones that have a green center, they may look like they are dead or dying but if the center stays green they may come back, once they have turned completely brown time to get them out.

 

[addy1]

We have a walk out basement, liveable space, it sits around 60 or so in the winter, keep the heat pushed upstairs, I kept a tropical lily alive last winter, maybe I will try some hyacinths.

Now if I really want to go crazy our sun room would have it in full sun (unless snowing) and warm all winter..............lol

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Last time I tried keeping hyacinths over the Winter, I put them in a tub with an air stone to keep the water moving, and hung a light over them with a timer. The temperature stayed around 70F, but the plants slowly withered and died. Hyacinths need LOTS of light, you simply cannot keep them alive otherwise. I think the problem was the light I was using may have been a poor choice of spectrum. Our aquarium plants thrive with 6500k lights, so I am going to try using those this Winter and see if I can keep some hyacinths going. If I can keep even a dozen plants alive, that would give me a great start each Spring.

 

[JoaniePA]

Mine never bloom. I get them anyway and they look okay along the edges and where they get stuck between other plants, but I've never had a bloom.

 

[addy1]

Mine never bloom. I get them anyway and they look okay along the edges and where they get stuck between other plants, but I've never had a bloom.

Try keeping them together, ie make a rope, or plant ring. I have read in many places they do best when bundled together with each other. Bloom and grow the best. I am just taking a floating rope, making a loop to keep them together.

I put some in the pond right before we left, they are starting to grow little ones, first time with them so will see how they do.

 

[stroppy]

yes i too tied mine up together loosely this year and for the first time ever they are flowering !

 

[Nova]

I would like to find out where in SC they are a problem, I will drive down and help clear up a lake. Free hyacinths would be nice. When it gets cold and they die here they get added to the compost bin.

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm glad someone else asked about wild hyacinths. I'm also glad to read all the info about them living just so long, then rotting and needing to be removed. I wondered about having my sister bring some from a lake in Wisconsin. She is coming Memorial Day weekend. They grow wild there, too, and I've seen the blooms, but might they be something else, too? Also, they come back year after year, and they are in a frozen lake, so how do they live there? This part is confusing me.

 

[fishin4cars]

In large quantities of water the plants form massive mats, these serve as insulation to the plants more toward the center of the mass. some can get lodged under ledges and such and go dormant. Not all will die and in the wild a Hyacinth can actually multiply 100 times over in a single week during peak growing season. The Corp. of Engineers do studies on them for water shed control and invasive weed control. I had to work with them many times for specific tests when I was working there in the lab.
For this reason, Please be reponsible and keep these and all aquatic plants and non-native fish in the pond and don't allow them into the wild.