ne1 know anything about water lettuce or hycinith?

[krap101]

because this house a lils away from me is selling em. havent looked any them yet. but im planning on doing it. and does water lettuce multiply as rapidly as duckweed? and will it like cover the whole surface like duckweed?

 

[Guest]

Both of them are really pond plants. They'll float (obviously) and grow huge bushy root down into the pond an suck up LOTS of nutrients. Helps a lot with algae control.

You posted this in planted tanks, so I'm guessing you're thinking of trying one or both of these in a tank. In general, not a good idea. You need a lot of space above the water and below the lights for the vegetation. Also, the roots I mentioned before don't look very good in a tank, and they take up a lot of room.

As for your specific question, they do multiply pretty rapidly, but not as fast as duckweed. Also much easier to thin out, because they are large plants, easy to remove a lot at once, as opposed to duckweed, you know how much of a pain that is to remove.

 

[krap101]

i actually liked the look of duckweed . and just net it out with a net and its not that hard. i might get em for the pond though. will i have to bring em in for the winter or could i leave them out there?

 

[RogerMcAllen]

They will die over the winter. You should be fine saving only a few because after the temperature hits a certain point they plants suddenly go insane and grow/spread rapily. They then seem to mellow out a bit for the rest of the season, but sometimes this process repeats.

 

[Guest]

I have had no success overwintering either of them. they get smaller and smaller, until they totally croak in March or so.

I end up spending 20 bucks or so every spring to get more, and by late July, I'm throwing bunches in the compost heap. *sigh*

Do you overwinter any Hyacinth or water lettuce, Roger? If so, what's your technique? I prolly don't have enough light or something.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I havn't actually tried it yet, but was going to this year because my dad bought some tropical lillies. The current plan is to get one of those solid black plastic rubbermaid tubs and set up a temporary pond near a sunny window. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Guest]

I DO sucessfully overwinter a tropical lilly. I have it in a Durabarrel (plastic whisky 1/2 barrel) with a 2 bulb shop light over it. Leave shop light on 24/7, mid-october to mid-may, sometimes June. Mine won't bloom indoors and the pads get smaller, but it survives! If I put a decent amount of light on it, it might bloom, never invested the $$ to try it. As it is, I most likely pay more in electricity over the whole indoor time then it would cost to just buy a new plant each year. (I believe I paid 25 bucks for it, 4-5 years ago.)
By mid July it's blloming like mad in the pond! Variety, Director George T. Moore, bright green pads with light speckling, brilliant purple flowers with yellow center. Bloom all day long which is one reason I really like it. My hardy lillies bloom in the morning and are shut by noon or so.

Back to floaters, sorry!

I've never tried lettuce or hyacinth in the barrel w/shop light cuz I don't want them shading my lilly. Perhaps I'll try them indoors in their own barrel this year, if I'm not too lazy. When I tried them before, it was in a barrel by a window, but the only place my wife would let me keep it wasn't a very sunny location. If you get enough sun I guess it should work.

 

[Guest]

I wonder if maybe a 1x55 or 2x55 AH Supply light would not be a better choice than the shop light?

 

[tropicalman]

Interesting point is that this stuff (hyacinth and lettuce) grows wild in these parts. It's illegal to dispose of them them in any natural waterway. My neighbor has a small koi pond and throws away trash cans full of hyacinth every couple of months and still has a problem controling it. $25 a piece? I've got to tell him that
They can get to be big with the roots 2 -3 feet long and the plant is at least a foot above the surface. I agree that they're not a suitable tank plant. If nothing else, the leaves would soon block all the light coming into the tank from the top.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

The $25 was for a specialty water lillie, not for the floaters. They are usually only $2-3 a pop around here.

 

[tropicalman]

Ah, even still those trash cans full of $2 - $3 plants should produce an interesting look on his face!

 

[krap101]

hmm. for the apogoton bulbs after they flower your suppose to refrigerate them. i think maybe take out all their leaves till their ready to grow again. for the lillies maybe you should like cut all the leaves off and refrigerate them until it gets to a certain temp outside.