Live Pond Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Live Pond Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as water hyacinth, is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant with thick glossy leaves and stunning lavender to pink flowers that grow about six inches above the foliage. Its feathery, freely hanging roots are purplish black in color.

Water hyacinth do best in full sun and warm temperatures. Be advised that they’re invasive and will need to be thinned from time to time. Since they’re floating plants, all you need to do is remove a batch from your pond. The roots can get thick so you might need scissors to cut the plants apart.

Sometimes hyacinth do such a good job at absorbing excess nutrients from the pond that there’s no food left for them in the height of summer. Their leaves might start to yellow, and flowers might cease their blooming. If this happens, you can pull them from the pond and put them in a bucket of water mixed with a soluble fertilizer according to package directions. Leave them in the budget for a few days and they should green right up. Be sure to rinse the fertilizer off the roots before returning them to your pond.

You can add water hyacinth to your biological filter (the top of your waterfall) or even keep them together by placing them in a floating ring in your pond. This helps control overpopulation. Eichhornia crassipes are listed as invasive plants in several states. Visit the list of regulated aquatic plants to see if your state is on the list.

If you prefer not having to thin out hyacinth in your pond, consider growing them in a container water garden such as a Patio Pond. In a smaller container, they’ll prefer a little bit of shade. To control mosquitoes, simply add a small aerator to your container water garden.

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