A few weeks ago in fact at the Santa Marta celebrations I came across a lady in the market selling some interesting looking plants, that you do not plant in the soil but float in water. I was absolutely fascinated and was delighted when David agreed that we should give them a try.
They turned out to be Water Hyacinths and the first flower appeared yesterday so I just had to share it with you for this week's Friday Foto Feature. My cousin S will be delighted to see these photos as she was with me at the market the day I fell for the idea of plants floating in water, just like having a mini pond.
Water hyacinths are apparently one of the easiest to care for aquatic plants. They thrive in any fresh water and are so indestructible they are classified in some parts of the world as invasive weeds. It will be interesting to see if they reproduce as fast as some of the internet articles I have read say they will or if they survive an Italian winter. They will not survive low temperatures so I will have to find a way of nurturing them and keeping them warm with enough light indoors I think for the winter. For now we are just enjoying growing something different.
Image courtesy of Google images. There is also some interesting information on these plants on the Wikipedia page for Water Hyacinths and I even found an interesting video on YouTube.
Courtesy of cattailremoval
Lindy they have had HUGE problems with them in S.Africa taking over the lakes and dams. They are a major problem and almost impossible to clear. The water life has suffered as well. Diane
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to be able to grow these - I love them but B said that they wouldn't grow here even in summer. They are beautiful! xxx M
ReplyDeleteDiane - Yes I understand they are a terribly invasive weed in many parts of the world! They are so beautiful though and I feel it is ok to grow them in containers, do you agree or not? I would never ever plant them in a pond or other such place.
ReplyDeleteMaggie - Maybe just as well, your beautiful pond might get ruined.
They're cute - shame to hear they're also vicious :S
ReplyDeleteSo pretty!
ReplyDeleteI wish the weeds in my yard looked like this. Just wondering - what are you growing them in? Do you have pond or are you using a container of water?
ReplyDeleteRachel - Yes as they are so pretty it is rather a shame.
ReplyDeleteSome Birds - I think so :)
Pam - Yes ,three different containers at the moment, would never put them in a pond even we did have one, knowing how invasive it is.