“Kid, your project is a hazard to the whole science fair,” [the custodian] said.
“They’re just a couple of plants,” said Michael[.] …
“They’re not normal,” said the custodian. “Mark my words. Something else is going to go wrong.”
from The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks
by Nancy McArthur
Avon/Camelot, 1988
Daffodils are my favorite flower for a variety of reasons, mostly their cheerful color and the way they nod to me in a gentle breeze.
I love tulips’ soft colors, but I stopped planting them because of my huge chipmunk population. Sometimes they eat the bulbs. Sometimes they just move them around underground. Spring is full of surprises, some better than others.
I’ve tried many different kinds of perennials and annuals, too, with an uneven success rate.
The hyacinth, according to Rockets Garden, “is a genus of bulbous flowering plants in the asparagus family.”
They are a later harbinger of Spring, and I have planted some pinks and purples throughout the years. I refuse to plant yellow ones. That color I dedicate to my daffodils.
While they are a non-native species (from the eastern Mediterranean region), hyacinths are easily controlled and pose no threat to our gardens.
And they keep coming back, right where I planted them.
But I won’t plant water hyacinths. They are a totally different species.
“Unlike [garden] hyacinths, which grow in the ground, water hyacinths have a unique structure that enables them to float. Water hyacinths have rounded, glossy leaves and produce [beautiful] spike-like clusters of lavender-blue flowers. Native to the Amazon basin, these are free-floating aquatic plants that can cover entire surfaces of water bodies” (again from the Rockets Garden site).
Water hyacinths are considered invasive in many parts of the world. Due to their rapid growth, they choke out native aquatic plants, which threatens the environment.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, an invasive species “can be any kind of living organism—an amphibian [like cane toads], plant [like water hyacinths and kudzu], insect, [like spotted lanternflies], fish, fungus, bacteria—that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. They can harm the environment, the economy, or even human health.”
They grow and reproduce quickly and spread aggressively.
Water hyacinths were brought to the US for the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884-85. Its beautiful bloom made it a fast favorite among the attendees.
Although invasive, they are appropriate for an indoor aquarium or outdoors in a water garden. They proliferate quickly, and if unchecked, they will speedily exhaust the water’s oxygen and nutrients. Any life in the container, fish, frogs, or other water plants, will be harmed or destroyed.
Along with lots of other invasives, water hyacinths were brought to the United States on purpose as ornamentals and simply got out of hand.
They are among others like English ivy, purple loosestrife, and even kudzu, also known as “the plant that ate the South,” that can still be purchased at garden stores.
According to a study done by the University of Massachusetts in 2021, 61% of 1,285 plant species identified as invasive in the U.S. remain available … including 50% of state-regulated species and 20% of federal noxious weeds[.] Since there are few ways to enforce rules prohibiting or limiting their purchase, we’re on our own.
My suggestion? Go native. So many native species are available. They attract native pollinators, they provide food for native wildlife. And they thrive right where you and I live.
And, finally, some surprising, good news. A study reported in ScienceDirect.com published online 1/3/25, describes how water hyacinths can help our environment. “It can absorb pollutants and heavy metals from contaminated waters, … and produce biogas [used for fuel].”
Both of these endeavors are in their infancy. They are labor intensive and require lots more study and funding, but even baby steps in the right direction help move us in the right direction.
I’m reading Long Bright River by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books, 2020). It’s the story of two sisters, one a cop and the other a drug addict. Although clocking in at almost 500 pages, the writing is tight, and the action is packed. Besides being an engrossing thriller, it is also a character study of each of the sisters and their relationship to each other. I learned about police departments in general as well as the underside of the Philadelphia street scene.
Be curious! (and go native)
“They’re just a couple of plants,” said Michael[.] …
“They’re not normal,” said the custodian. “Mark my words. Something else is going to go wrong.”
from The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks
by Nancy McArthur
Avon/Camelot, 1988
Daffodils are my favorite flower for a variety of reasons, mostly their cheerful color and the way they nod to me in a gentle breeze.
I love tulips’ soft colors, but I stopped planting them because of my huge chipmunk population. Sometimes they eat the bulbs. Sometimes they just move them around underground. Spring is full of surprises, some better than others.
I’ve tried many different kinds of perennials and annuals, too, with an uneven success rate.
The hyacinth, according to Rockets Garden, “is a genus of bulbous flowering plants in the asparagus family.”
They are a later harbinger of Spring, and I have planted some pinks and purples throughout the years. I refuse to plant yellow ones. That color I dedicate to my daffodils.
While they are a non-native species (from the eastern Mediterranean region), hyacinths are easily controlled and pose no threat to our gardens.
And they keep coming back, right where I planted them.
But I won’t plant water hyacinths. They are a totally different species.
“Unlike [garden] hyacinths, which grow in the ground, water hyacinths have a unique structure that enables them to float. Water hyacinths have rounded, glossy leaves and produce [beautiful] spike-like clusters of lavender-blue flowers. Native to the Amazon basin, these are free-floating aquatic plants that can cover entire surfaces of water bodies” (again from the Rockets Garden site).
Water hyacinths are considered invasive in many parts of the world. Due to their rapid growth, they choke out native aquatic plants, which threatens the environment.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, an invasive species “can be any kind of living organism—an amphibian [like cane toads], plant [like water hyacinths and kudzu], insect, [like spotted lanternflies], fish, fungus, bacteria—that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. They can harm the environment, the economy, or even human health.”
They grow and reproduce quickly and spread aggressively.
Water hyacinths were brought to the US for the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884-85. Its beautiful bloom made it a fast favorite among the attendees.
Although invasive, they are appropriate for an indoor aquarium or outdoors in a water garden. They proliferate quickly, and if unchecked, they will speedily exhaust the water’s oxygen and nutrients. Any life in the container, fish, frogs, or other water plants, will be harmed or destroyed.
Along with lots of other invasives, water hyacinths were brought to the United States on purpose as ornamentals and simply got out of hand.
They are among others like English ivy, purple loosestrife, and even kudzu, also known as “the plant that ate the South,” that can still be purchased at garden stores.
According to a study done by the University of Massachusetts in 2021, 61% of 1,285 plant species identified as invasive in the U.S. remain available … including 50% of state-regulated species and 20% of federal noxious weeds[.] Since there are few ways to enforce rules prohibiting or limiting their purchase, we’re on our own.
My suggestion? Go native. So many native species are available. They attract native pollinators, they provide food for native wildlife. And they thrive right where you and I live.
And, finally, some surprising, good news. A study reported in ScienceDirect.com published online 1/3/25, describes how water hyacinths can help our environment. “It can absorb pollutants and heavy metals from contaminated waters, … and produce biogas [used for fuel].”
Both of these endeavors are in their infancy. They are labor intensive and require lots more study and funding, but even baby steps in the right direction help move us in the right direction.
I’m reading Long Bright River by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books, 2020). It’s the story of two sisters, one a cop and the other a drug addict. Although clocking in at almost 500 pages, the writing is tight, and the action is packed. Besides being an engrossing thriller, it is also a character study of each of the sisters and their relationship to each other. I learned about police departments in general as well as the underside of the Philadelphia street scene.
Be curious! (and go native)
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