Water Gardening: Flowering water hyacinths, 1 by DRH2

DRH2 wrote:
Bogweed, I use a piece of 8 pound test monofilament fishing line with about three wine corks spaced every 3-4 feet on the line to hold back all the water hyacinths instead of the tubing (same idea just slightly different). Receipe is as follows: drink 3-4 bottles of wine; save corks (if you can still see them); drill largish hole thru each cork (lengthwise, sidewise, otherwise); string monofilament thru corks (very difficult after the wine!) and tie the corks in place so they don't slide; anchor line ends somewhere on either side of pond - I use those plastic spikes they use for holding down landscape fabric. Works like a charm keeping them out of the skimmer yet still leaves enough droop in between the corks to allow floating pollen, leaves, etc. to make it to the skimmer. It's also high enough in the water so it doesn't get tangled up with all the finned-folks down below.

For some reasong the water hyacinths are growing very fast this year! Have already pitched over 100 plants on the compost heap plus given away 8 trash bags filled with them! Luckily we don't have to worry about them over-wintering around here!!! Some of mine are largish, some are smaller - seems to depend a lot on where in the pond they're growing. The smallish ones generally are in the area with the most sunlight whereas the large guys are in and around the lotus or partially hidden by a few boulders. To help keep them a nice, dark green I toss in 1 tablespoon of 5% liquid iron (at the inlet side of the pump) for 2000 gallons every other week along with 1 tablespoon of muriate of potash. Works like a charm, doesn't hurt fish or anything else and the plants look very, very healthy.