Got a quick question here for the experts on water hyacinth. I have been working on a pond for a farmer friend of mine. He has given me all access to do what I want to it. It is about 3/4 acre. I personally have 2 water ponds in my back yard that are exploding with water hyacinth. I actually thru some in my compost bin today because they are expanding so fast. From what I understand, this is sort of a miracle plant. It will use up extra nutrients, clear green water, and digest muck that settles near the bottom in shallow areas. What it be feasible to throw some of these in this pond to help me out. I am in Indiana so by October it will probably be cold enough to start killing them off. Also the pond has no links to any natural waterways to possibly infest. Just curious of your alls input on this. Thanks
If your object is to have something that will use up extra nutrients, I think they would do the trick. Just try and pull them out right before or after the first frost or they'll add to the nutrient load when they die.
Yup, toss some in, let them explode and filter everything with thier roots. Drag them out before they die to a compost pile. But as you know this is not a toss them in and they manage themselves operation. I would not let them take over 1/2 of the ponds surface. I use them a lot. But I compost the long rooted mother plants when they produce babies. The roots just get saturated to a point they do not filter much. Do not let them die and sink.
How fast do they grow & multiply and can they take over a pond and become a problem?
They practically multiply before your eyes with nutrients and warm water. They can become a serious problem and overtake an entire body of water if you do not regularly harvest them.
I bought three plants in April when it was kinda cool still. I put them in my goldfish/albino catfish pond and around june they started to grow. Nothing major at first, now here we are in the middle of June and I am throwing them out about every other day. They are about the size of a butter bowl, but then they shoot off this little arm and another plant starts to grow off of that. Doesnt sound to ferocious until you forget to take some out in about a week and the little ones and thier little ones have all grown arms and now the plant is about the size of a hula hoop. But hey, just reach and grab some and throw them out, no big deal. If your in an area where it freezes in the winter, they will die off anyhow and you just scoop them out. Give them a shot if you want something to take over an area and cover it fast.
THey send out plants or shoot in many directions. Then those satelitte plants do the same thing, so the mass grows extremely fast if left unchecked. They are fairly easy to deal with, if you are committed to do so and have the time. I like to keep the new ones to filter and toss the older clogged ones who have done thier job. They will even start eating muck off the bottom if they can reach it, and pull in everything from algae to minerals. Some fish nibble on thier roots.