I have tons of water hyacinth and need to find homes - let me know if you are interested.
water hyacinth for trade or postage
I feel for you. My WH and water lettuce are heading to the compost tumbler.
This is my first time with them - I had no idea they multiply so fast - They are so pretty but what in the world - do they drink up as much water as they appear? Seems like every few days the water goes down in the pond and there is no leak.
I knew nothing about them when I got them.
That is why they have become such a problem in the wild. I started with just a few plants and have a small prefab pond. Before you know it, I was scrounging up buckets and totes for the overflow. In the cold climates, they are annuals so there's no problem. Down here, even though the growth slows down they still grow and multiply year round. The water lettuce also release seeds in the water which germinate when the water warms enough. They you can have hundreds of babies in the spring. I like them and will continue to keep them as they are in an enclosed area and can't escape to the wild. After I get rid of this years overflow, I am going to be more strict in composting or rehoming them rather than keeping all the overflow buckets. LOL
What should I do with them? Is there any place that would have a good purpose for them? It's crazy, they are beautiful but by gosh.
Northern gardeners are in need in the early spring but this time of the year, many ponds on shutting down for the winter. Do you plan to try to overwinter a few? If you don't get any takers, I would just compost or toss what you don't plan to keep
They need to go, there's barely any water in the pond that isn't covered by these monsters
I have a compost pile in the corner of my yard where I just toss weeds, trimmings, ect. Don't even bother turning it. Just let mother nature work it till be breaks down. The bottom must be looking pretty good by now. LOL I have a tumber also but it seems to take forever for it to break down, even in full sun doesn't get really hot inside. I may try painting it black instead of faded green.
I need some! Because of their invasive qualities, I cant buy them in Florida. But my ponds are man made and contained, so they dont go anywhere. Send me a Dmail if you still have some left.
:)
Zoo's will take them to feed their animals (at least they do in Illinois). I think the Hippos like them.
I'll see if a local zoo could use the tub. I have about 15 gallons of them already out of the pond
Not fair! I have tried twice and water hyacinth just do not like to grow here. They start out fine then start looking brown and yucky. Mine are still alive but barely. I cut the orelanders away from the pond yesterday to make sure they are getting more sun. Hopefully that will help.. maybe the splash from the fountain is too much for them? I will take one out and put it into one of my free standing pot/ponds. I have two of those with little plants in them. Wish me luck. I want mine to grow.. want to see a bloom for real not just a picture.
Tammie
I just composted about 30 plants today and have about 30 more to go. They will triple again in no time. It's hard to toss them when they are blooming. LOL. Tomorrow it's the water lettuce. If it was edible, I would have salad for the next 5 yrs....
I think my problem is because even the water here is alkaline. It is hard on everything.
Tammie
... what does water lettuice look like?
Here is a link. BTW, both WH & water lettuce are illegal in Texas with big fines.
http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/floating_plants/water_lettuce.htm
are they illegal in florida? I haven't sent them out yet but need to know -
.Yes unless you have a special nursery permit.
won't be sending them out then.
Actually, I just trashed all of mine. I love them but not worth the risk, especially with an ongoing problem with one neighbor. I'm sure I can find something to replace them next year.
I'm composting them. Thanks.
Save some for us Northerners !!!! Come next Spring I will happily give a home to anybodys plants!!!!
Water hyacinth aren't "illegal" in FLorida, they are already here. They ARE listed as an invasive species though, and therefore cannot be shipped here. If you are getting rid of them, they should be composted and not released into the waterways. My koi eat them so fast that I can't even keep them and always have to get new ones to replace the old ones. My pond is also self contained and lined, so it's not a natural waterway that would allow any to move on and regrow elsewhere. Water lettuce is a bigger nuisance, it not only takes over, but also rots in the water.
Same here. I would love some hyacinth next spring. I'm going to "wall off" a small shallow area away from the koi so that I can grow a few more types of water plants. Next spring if any of you southern water gardeners have some to share I'd love to know.