How to Propagate a Water Hyacinth

A water hyacinth is a floating pond plant that has bright green, shiny, oval leaves that can grow 10 inches wide. The plants display purplish flowers that are 2 to 3 inches long. These plants can propagate themselves by seeds from daughter plants developing on rhizomes and producing thick growth of water hyacinth. One plant can produce as many as 5,000 seeds. Propagating a water hyacinth can be illegal in many southern states because it can reproduce quickly and pollute the water. Water hyacinth can also be propagated from seeds.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

things you’ll need:

• Plastic plant trays
• Compost soil
• Washed horticultural grit

1. Sow hyacinth seeds after they have become ripe. When they are ripe, they burst apart into hundreds of tiny seeds.
2. Plant seeds in plastic trays consisting of compost soil. Lightly cover them with washed horticultural grit. Water them thoroughly, but do not let the soil become soggy.
3. Place the tray in a cool area or greenhouse over the winter in a temperature of about 50 to 65 degrees F. Set them in little or no sunlight.
4. Water the plants at least once per week, but leave them relatively undisturbed for the first year. Do not let the soil become soggy.
5. Transplant the seeds in about a year after they have sprouted and developed roots. Move them to a nursery bed or a place outside near the water. They plants should develop flowers in two to three years.