Water Lettuce

Water Lettuce Care

Pistia Stratiotes

What is the plant

Pistia stratiotes native distribution is uncertain, but probably pantropical; it was first discovered from the Nile near Lake Victoria in Africa. It is now present, either naturally or through human introduction, in nearly all tropical and subtropical fresh waterways. The growth habit can make it a weed in waterways. It has the potential to reduce the biodiversity of a waterway. Mats of Pistia stratiotes block gas exchange at the air-water interface, reducing the oxygen in the water and killing fish. They also block light, killing native submerged plants and alter immersed plant communities by crushing them.

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Humidity

High

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

15°C - 21°C

Hardiness zone

9 - 11

Difficulty

Medium

Hibernation

Cold Period

Invasive

Weed

How to Care for the Plant

Water
Keep the water current at slow rate during introduction, but once established, the filter can be turned to its maximum speed. Outdoors, it will easily grown on still water in full sun to part shade.This plant prefers slightly acidic waters (6.5-7.2) and moderate hardness (5-20 KH).
Fertilizer
Pistia stratiotes is such a vigorous grower it sometimes uses up one or more nutrients in the pond. This can especially be a problem in very small ponds and ponds with very few fish. There are two ways of fertilizing this plant. If there are only a few, float them in a bucket of liquid fertiliser for a few hours at a time. If there are too many lettuce to remove from the pond, treat the entire pond with a solution of Muriate of Potash. This plant and other floating plants also usually respond well to any of the micro nutrient solutions specially made for pond plants.
Sunlight
Outdoors, Pistia stratiotes thrives in full sun, but needs some midday shade. Indoors, they will need a bright lit position; a south window is best, but artificial lighting may still be necessary. A typical 10-12 hours light cycle suits this plant.Most starter Pistia stratiotes plants were grown under partial shade (in slat houses), so is recommended to protect them from full sun for a week or two. Full sun will not kill them, but it can bleach tender young leaves. If the plants come from full sun, skip this step.Pistia stratiotes grows faster in full sun. Their rosettes stay tighter looking better when grown in partial shade. Either way, Pistia stratiotes provides good cover for ponds.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
This is a floating plant and should never be planted in the substrate. If Pistia stratiotes starter plants have a good root system, just toss them in the water. Otherwise, prop them up and they will root.
Temperature
Water temperature should be between: 20 – 28°C (68 – 82°F). The water temperature should never drop bellow 10°C (50°F) for Pistia stratiotes safety.
Popularity
337 people already have this plant 68 people have added this plant to their wishlists