Water hyacinth

[MartinNicklin]

I've grown this before and it had flowered in a hot summer with a lovely bloom. It is now banned for sale in the UK. I don't know why because yes, it clogs up tropical waterways but no way will it survive a typical British winter so unlike Canadian pondweed (which I also can't get hold of), would be very unlikely to get a foothold.

Anyway, I believe the ban is to be lifted but there is still no sign of them becoming available. I would like one for my indoor tank. Does anyone have any and might be prepared to send me a piece? Not sure if I can legally offer to buy it, but I can pay P&P and perhaps do a swap. I would have overwintered some indoors, had I known what was to happen!!!

[charlie]

Always a pain going up the Bangkok river as it always clogged all the engine cooling intakes! But when I saw it flowering on a small pond on Madeira I can see why you would want to grow it - very pretty

[MICHAEL]

Totally forbidden here - although I have one by accident. Flowers are short-lived but lovely. Most floating plants are banned here - Amazonian frogbit (Limnonium), phyllanthus, salvinia. The only 'native' floaters seem to be duckweed and azolla.

[LostInJapan]

They sell them openly here. That's surprising since they could easily clog up the waterways here, but I can't say I've seen them taking over. In Florida they are out of hand.

[iko]

There are places selling Eichhornia crassipes in the UK. A quick Google search will show you some with less reputation and at least one that looks legit. It's true what you were saying, and looks like the ban in the UK on this plant may be lifted soon.

In the EU, E. crassipes is also illegal and doesn't seem to be changed anytime soon but Eichhornia azurea is similar, not invasive and available to buy.

[MartinNicklin]

I can't find any on the net. None of the aquatic suppliers sell it, though all of them used to and some still have have it on their lists but unavailable. The one I assume you regarded as "legit", Lincolnshire Pond Plants, appears to sell it ... until you try to add it to your cart. I dont think anyone will sell it until the ban has unequivocally been lifted hence my plea to anyone prepared to gift me a piece and I would supply P&P or a swap. I have some nice Agaves which would appear to be a generous swap as the water hyacinths were dirt cheap!

PS there is one internet article suggesting one UK location where the plant appears to have successfully colonised an area but the image is poor and, on my small screen at least, to me appeaes not to be this plant. Not sure if anyone else can see a clearer image or has better IT to be able to definitively ID it as water hyacinth?

[Chad]

Martin,

The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland have it recorded at several sites. These observations don't imply it is perennating, just that it was 'observed'.

Some of these may be misidentifications, but one wonders how it be confused with any other plant.

In Nottinghamshire it does look like a misidentification: I can't see any of the characteristic 'bladders' in the pictures.

Incidentally, The BSBI list it under its old name of Eichhornia crassipes, it got absorbed into Pontederia as Pontederia crassipes recently.

Chad

[Paul S]

I went through a phase of growing it here but never once managed to overwinter any outside, relying on keeping some frost-free. Another one of those ludicrous bits of 'one size fits all' bits of legislation like Gunnera x cryptica.

[David F]

This post got me thinking of water pot gardening again, and I’ve bought some Pistia stratiotes to add to recently purchased Oenanthe javanica variegata and Dichromena colorata. Unfortunately a water garden will always attract raccoons here, and I have to set it up where they can’t get to it so easily.

[MartinNicklin]

… and yet to us David, raccoons sound so exotic! When I used to have a big pond which had enough space to allow the Oenanthe to form rafts, it made great spawning material for my fish, as did the water hyacinth roots. I’m now growing the Oenanthe in the ground because it was too vigorous in water in my new small pond. It’s a pretty plant indeed.
There was a recent post on GOTE (now gone) where one member showed a photo of his water lilies including Black Princess. Last week I got hold of this lovely lily, as well as Purple Fantasy which looks so exotic. I think Chad said he likes the purples. Is anyone growing these and has pictures for this forum? And Charlie, what was the name of the lovely yellow one you grow which holds its flowers well above the water rather like the tropicals? I think water gardening is sadly lacking on the exotic plant forums and yet there are plenty of exotics we can grow in water and they grow very lush indeed. If I had the space I like the look of the giant Pontaderia you can now get.