What's happening to my water lettuce?

[GBBUDD]

Mine all but die in new england on mid summer days

 

[Mmathis]

I didn’t realize this was a year-old thread until I saw my own response posted.

@maybedave, are you still around? How did your water lettuce do? Lots of great advice here.

 

[HARO]

While water lettuce does not flower

I've worked in retail (water garden) for about 15 years, and every year I've had to correct people on this subject. They do indeed flower, but the flower is very small, and a greenish yellow and white, so they are often overlooked.

John

 

[poconojoe]

I've worked in retail (water garden) for about 15 years, and every year I've had to correct people on this subject. They do indeed flower, but the flower is very small, and a greenish yellow and white, so they are often overlooked.
View attachment 140323
John

Interesting. I'll have to take a closer look.

Just as a mention, I haven't had water hyacinths bloom for several years.
Last year I had some hyacinths that were ginormous! Maybe close to a foot in diameter and probably 2 feet high!
They didn't bloom either.

 

[mediasyko]

Can too much water lettuce be bad. Mine I in full-sun. We are having a heat wave and they are out of control! Can they suffocate the pond?

 

[GBBUDD]

Not to worry , Until they start to die out, then you'll need to start ripping them out. Since the entire country is in a heat wave they will help shade and cool the pond, not to mention suck up nutrients. BUT WATCH THE OXYGEN LEVELS

 

[KyPondGal]

I added 3 water lettuce to our new clay bottom pond in May and the lettuce have taken over almost all of the pond’s surface! I have been removing the lettuce for several hours a day for the last 3 days and I have barely made a dent in their numbers. I am worried they will start to die out this fall and sink to the bottom causing a nutrient overload. The lettuce roots seem to be filtering out a lot of nutrients from the pond water and the leaves shade the water, but they are greatly limiting the flow of the water. Is there any easier way to get rid of them other than the manual removal I’m using now?

 

[GBBUDD]

nope but i hope your planning a compost garden

 

[rubyduby]

I added 3 water lettuce to our new clay bottom pond in May and the lettuce have taken over almost all of the pond’s surface! I have been removing the lettuce for several hours a day for the last 3 days and I have barely made a dent in their numbers. I am worried they will start to die out this fall and sink to the bottom causing a nutrient overload. The lettuce roots seem to be filtering out a lot of nutrients from the pond water and the leaves shade the water, but they are greatly limiting the flow of the water. Is there any easier way to get rid of them other than the manual removal I’m using now?

You are lucky that yours are doing so well! I had a few water lettuce and water hyacinths in my Virginia pond and they did so well that my compost pile was the size of a swimming pool!