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Re: Water Hyacinth Disease
"Beth Riesgraf" <riesgraf at cloudnet_com> wrote:
> Hi. I am struggling to keep six water hyacinths alive by keeping them
> indoors for the winter in a 50 gallon plastic tub. They are getting brown
> spots on the leaves and I've checked numerous sources but haven't found any
> answers. The roots seem healthy, but growth seems stunted compared to its
> outdoor summer growth. The house water is softened, ph 8.0, and temp. is 68
> degrees F. Six guppies are thriving in the tank. Two flourescent Gro-lights
> are positioned approximately 3 feet above the plants, and they're on 12
> hours a day. There has been some algae overgrowth. Is this a nutrient or
> fertilizer problem, a fungal infection, or something else? I added a small
> amount of dilute Miracle Gro (30 cc of solution using the recommended
> dilution with the powder). Help!! It's only November and I need these boys
> alive till May! I can't believe that this beautiful plant is considered a
> pest in the tropics, and I'm having trouble keeping a half dozen alive!
> Thanks for any help you can give me.
> -Beth
I am keeping a few indoors as well. The brown spots seem to be a symptom of
potassium deficiency. I feed mine with a mix of PMDD and Schultz african violet
fertilizer. The brown spots went away when I increased the K2SO4 amount in
my mix. The light level you provide seems to me a little to the low side.
I use two 32 Watt cool white bulbs on a shoplite 4 inches above the plants.
They are growing well, deep green, but do not reach the size they reach
outdoors.
Hope this helps.
- Ivo Busko
Baltimore, MD