water lettus question

[Rad Michelle]

Ok!
i can grow hyacinth like insanely crazy! big huge fat ones.. long tall skinny ones.. anything.
this is my first year with lettus... and i'm getting it to multiply so much quicker than its growing large... how do i get it to grow big.. instead of a bunch of littler ones.

[PondmaninAL]

Michelle, you will need a tub or bucket and some fertilizer crstals that dissolve in water. Put the water lettuce in the bucket or tub and wait a month. Take them out when they reach the right size and rinse the roots off. With me being in Florida, you didn't hear that from me.

 

[frogman3]

Water lettuce also does not like as much sun as water hyacinth does but like he said a week in a tub with miracle grow sure does help.

[landey1230]

To keep them from spreading, take a plastic drip system 1/2 inch tubing and form a hoop.  Sort of like a small hula hoop.  They spread much faster than they grow.  The key is to contain the spread.  I had water lettuce last year and I couldn't stand it.  My fish loved the shade, but I was scooping it out every week.  Pondman's idea works as well.

[miguynmkoi]

Ditto everyone above, except I don't live in Florida 

When confined it seems to grow "fuller" and larger.  In my small pond I had it growing in a small area and it grew very big.  Once I let some grow out of that space they did do the spider thing where long branches were growing out from the parent plant with smaller babies at the ends.  But boy did these guys spread out!  Had to constantly dump them out. 

I'm over water lettuce for now.  Too much work on me and the bio filter.

[Rad Michelle]

ok miricle grow here i come!

[Pa Nancy]

Wished I had that problem.  I keep killing mine.  :'(

[jax]

Mine isn't growing very well either.  I'm going to have to do the Miracle grow in the bucket and see if I can get some going.  I don't have much going in the hyacinth category either.  Should I attempt the same treatment for it?

[Rad Michelle]

well hyacinth want lots of sun! 
and that part of your pond that doesnt have very much water flow, and the water just kinda sits... and gets mucky... or a muckey bucket.. they like that. they dont like clean water. the more muck the better.

this is a shot of like 2 inches of water between two bullrush that has absolutly no filtration what so ever... and they just grow and grow on top of each other... and the old leaves die off and decompose and feed itself.

[PondmaninAL]

Michelle, I don't want to debate with you but WH's do not need lots of sunlight to grow big. What they do need is food. I've raised them in a shady pond for three years and they got to be up to 24" tall with big leaves. One year, I had almost lost them. Florida introduced a weevil that eats WH's. They found mine that year and by the time I finished, I only had 1/3 the number of WH's that I had started with. Florida don't like WH's but they are under control and will allow ponders that are not on any natural bodies of water to have them. As long as you are not a nursery. We can't sell them either without all the right papers. Just a little bit of info.

[Rad Michelle]

man 2 feet tall!  :worship:thats huge! aRE THE flowers still the same size?

[PondmaninAL]

Nope, they are double to triple the size when the plant is that big.