My sister in law wants to know how she should store her floating water hyacinths in the winter time. She looses them if she leaves them out in the pond. She also said their not like the regular hyacinths. They don't spread as fast she said, said their harder to find than the regular hyacinth? is this true? or is this like an invasive thing.
anyways, she wants to know how to keep them from rotting in her garage. she's storing them in a 5 gallon bucket in her garage, and they rot. I suppose she could pot them up?
not sure. This is why I asked the experts.
storing floating hyacinths in winter
I have never brought them through the winter successfully so this year I tried potting some up in potting mix. They have been in there for quite a while and seem to be doing quite well. I used a light potting mix that will not compact around the roots.
Never heard of a different water hyacinth :(
They can be kept easily over winter with good lighting and heated water. If the water is cool they will slowly decline, it is very difficult to bring them back from that.
Ok, thanks
I have them in a kids swimming pool with my tropical water lilies...so far so good. I have them in a detached garden room with lots of light the furnace is set at 60 and so far so good. They are staying dark green and the water lilies are sending up new leaves. The only thing I have lost is the water lettuce. This is the first time I have tried this so it is a long time until summer...
It is a long time til summer :( you could get an aquarium heater....put it in something so it won't hurt the kiddie pool.
I think I am going to build a longer narrow indoor pool so it doesn't stick out in the middle of the room so far. If I do this I think I will put styrofoam underneath to keep the concrete from transferring the cold to it. Then I can hang my potted plants above and when I water them it will drain into the long pool and not all over the floor like it does now. So little time and money but alot of good ideas and intentions.
Joyce
At a certain point in time there might be a cost trade off - lights, water, dechlorinator and aquatic fertilizer necessary to maintain the plants over the long winter vs the cost of new plants in the spring. If you add supplemental heat there would be an additional cost factored into the equation. Also, municipal tap water is always deficient in potassium, an element needed by aquatic plants.
BTW I have styrofoam ( the skinny pink stuff that comes in sheets ) behind and under a 75 gal tropical aquarium. It works great. I first put it on for the winter because the aquarium is against an outside wall and the heaters had a hard time keeping up. I intended to take it off in the summer, but I found that it also kept the tank from getting too hot during the summer. Try insulating the sides of your winter aquatic habitat too. The bright pink might not fit in with your decor but it does a really good job without a lot of bulk or much cost.
I am storing alot more plants than just the aquatic and you are right there is a certain trade off, but it is what keeps me sane in the winter going to the garden room and playing. I am not currently using any additional lighting the south is almost total windows and no windows on the north side. I have well water so I have lots of minerals.....LOL lots! I am going to hold off on any heat for the swimming pool. The truth will come out this weekend when our highs get in the teens! Yuck..... Right now I am just experimenting to see what lives and so far so good. That is a good idea putting the pink stuff on the sides.
Thanks everyone
Joyce
I get the "keeps me sane" part. Right there it becomes cost effective! You can't put a price on puttering in a water garden when the winds howl and everything outside is frozen solid. I go to the local greenhouse that sells year around and just wander in the warmth and greenery.
Can you stick one little goldfish in there?
Oh, wandering in that greenhouse would get very expensive! I'd have to keep myself very busy at home lol
I sure could stick a couple of small goldfish in there. I would hate to do just one who would he pal with? LOL...
I figure the garden room is alot cheaper than therapy...and cheaper than a divorcee when I drive my DH nuts...winter is so long....I have propagated some stuff and so I am babying those along. Hey, one thing I did out of accident I had broke a green stem with leaves off a dahlia and I stuck it in the pool and it has been green for about 3 months and since it was green I just left it. The other day I pulled it out of the water and it has roots. It took forever! Wish it would of been off of my dinner plate white one.
I don't think we have a commerical greenhouse around here that sells year round.....least I hope I don't find it! LOL....It is amazing how much better you feel walking around somewhere like that. I travel to Oklahoma City sometimes on business and I always go to the botanical garden & arboretum there.
Joyce
You rooted a dahlia from a stem? In water? Well I never. That's some water you've got there! Locally there is one excellent "Mom & Pop" greenhouse. They have the most gorgeous tropicals and houseplants under glass. They propagate their own annuals and perennials too. It's an amazing place. They claim they get a lot of warmth and gardening starved customers in January and February. I buy something at every visit. Luckily their prices are also very reasonable. Something for every budget.
That dahlia took so long to root that several times I almost threw it out, but it was so green and the pretty that I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I figure most people with any sense would of given up and thrown it away long before it rooted. I am letting them grow. I will try to take a picture this weekend and post.
With the price of heating I am amazed any greenhouse can be reasonable any more. I have friends who have 3 huge greenhouses but they don't start growing until I believe February and they buy sprouts from brokers, but their heating cost have sky rocketed. They sell at several farmers markets.
I will have to see if we have a year round greenhouse. You have me curious about that now.
Joyce
Ahhhhh......the things we do for our gardens. I've tried several strategies but decided this year it would be more economical, time wise, energy wise (I am so tired and stressed after my 40-50 hour work week) and money wise to buy a dozen water hyacinth in tthe Spring and let them do their thing without my efforts. Overwintering in the GH did not seem to be worth the effort in the long run. Either way it seems it is mid Summer before they provide good coverage.
Loretta
To each there is a way to garden and reduce stress. Honestly, If I had the room I would try
happgarden's inside winter water garden. I don't so, I shop the greenhouse instead. I also stare out the windows a lot at the bare tress plotting net spring's pruning cuts. I have a 6" caliper Weeping Higan cherry that was planted 18 months ago. It has needed time to establish so other than removing some badly crossed branches I've left it alone. Now I'm going to attempt to prune it "Niwaki" (Japanese) fashion.
The koi have gotton so large that they trash within a day any floating water plant. Next year I will have only potted lotus, water lilys and a rush. I have to fasten plastic fencing with 1 in. holes over the tops of the pots. The holes are large enough let the plant stems grow through but small enough to keep the koi from pulling the tubers right out of the pot. I might even have to make a stone fence on the planting shelf that the koi can't get over to get to the pots. They are a rowdy bunch. Five of the eight are approaching two feet. It is now defensive water gardening.
Actually, the stone fence idea works quite well and accomplishes several things --
When we enlarged our pond a couple of years ago, my DH had the idea of using the shelf area as a giant bog. He put in the stone fencing using the pond foams that are curently available, We then filled the entire area with pea gravel. The pea gravel works well as a bog area with different plants and it also helps as an area to filter the water. You can see part of the stone fence in my picture.
We found that by putting the water hyacinths in the bog area, that we don't have the problems with the koi beating up the water hyacinths, nor do the water hyacinths end up getting caught up in the current to the skimmer. When planting the water hyacinths in the pea gravel, they are able to get enough nutrition to flower. We have had as many as 7 or 8 blooms at once on the water hyacinths.
We buy a couple of water hyacinths each year. We had tried to carry them over and it really was more hassel than anything else - (our lives tend to be rather frenetic at times). When we buy our water hyacinths each year, we also pick up a couple of the water lettuce so the koi can have fun with those. The water lettuce typically does not last very long with the koi.
Carolyn
What a FANTASTIC idea! As soon as I get this @!&$# cast off my foot I'm heading out to the pond to see how much of the shelf will be "fenced off" and filled with gravel. It opens a whole new set of possibilities. Man, are you ever clever!
Here is a picture of the bog with the water hyacinths straight on. The water hyacinths were cascading over the stone fence by the end of the season. I had also put in some water celery that started to come over the top of the stone fence, which really softened some of the lines. I am thinking that next year, some of the plants should really take off!
It just looks so good. That is one of the best ideas I've ever come across. And heaven knows that DG is chock full of talented people. Thanks for sharing.
Your wh probably will not make it indoor in just water. I've had success potting them in fertile soil. I keep them wet and put them in front of a window. They actually do quite well that way.
In the spring, you can put them out during the day when it's warm to get them going but they won't do anything in the pond until the water is at least 70*. Once you get to that point, they'll start to multiply like crazy!
Love the idea of the rock shelf. Due to inexperience I made what I think are too many deep shelfs and not enough shallow, but that sure is way to get the shelf shallower..LOL is that a word? I put water hyacinths in the home made filter box above my waterfall. They did really well there.
The water hyacinths are still green and doing fine. Course cold weather hasn't set in yet and the many days without sunshine will be here soon. Think I will put one in soil and try that. I only have 4 in the garden room.
Joyce