Pre-orders require a minimum 50% deposit within 48 hours of the order being placed. You will have to contact us to make your deposit.

Get a combo of Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce! Combos use Short Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes ssp)

Water Hyacinth

Water Hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter (3 feet) in height. 

How to Grow Water Hyacinth Growing water hyacinth plants is easy. Once established, they require no special care except occasional thinning to keep them from choking out everything else in the pond. Under perfect conditions, a colony of water hyacinths can double its size every 8 to 12 days. Water hyacinths need full sun and hot summer temperatures. Introduce them to the garden by scattering bunches of plants over the surface of the water. They quickly take hold and begin to grow. Thin the plants when they cover more than 60 percent of the water surface.  The are treated as a annual in Canada because they are a zone 7 plant

Water Lettuce

Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), also referred to as water cabbage, or Nile cabbage which creates the perfect environment for fry and skittish fish.

Water lettuce grows floating on the surface water, and its leaves form a rosette, with dense, submerged roots beneath it. These plants grow like a weed outdoors. It is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and sub-tropical Africa

It is believed that water lettuce is native to Africa, though there is no consensus on where it originated from on the continent. It was first recorded on the Nile River, near Lake Victoria. In the ensuing years after its discovery, it has spread around the globe, and presents a very real threat to native vegetation and fish. In fact, it is illegal to own or transport water lettuce in certain states and countries, and anyone looking to purchase these plants should first check local regulations.

Water lettuce grows up to 10 inches across (25.5 centimeters), though it tends to be smaller in the home aquarium. Its leaves have no stem and their surface is covered in short, soft hairs, which help to trap air and increase the buoyancy of the plant.

Care

A half barrel is an ideal container for both plants. The plants need full sun in garden ponds, but in containers they do best if they have shade from mid to late afternoon. Cover the inside of the barrel with a heavy duty garbage bag and then place a layer of soil in the bottom of the container. Don’t use commercial potting soil, which contains fertilizers and other chemicals that may harm the plant and encourage the growth of algae.

City water is usually treated with chlorine or chloramine, which is harmful to plants. Garden centers sell products that remove the chlorine and chloramine from the water and make it safe for plants. There is no need to treat the small amounts of water that you use to top off the container through the season. Rain water is best to use to grown them in.