A home gardener, thrilled to see water hyacinth blooming in their pond, shared a photo of the delicate purple blooms on Reddit. But surprisingly for them, it was met not with awe, but with concern over the invasive nature of the species.
Another gardener reposted the hyacinth photo on the subreddit r/invasivespecies, where they wrote, "Just because it's beautiful doesn't mean that it isn't invasive."
One Redditor quickly jumped in with a similar frustration. "The people in general gardening groups can be insufferable," they wrote. "I had to leave my local FB one because so many people just didn't want to hear anything about invasive species/aggressive non-natives. Always with the 'but it's so pretty!' and 'it hasn't taken over in MY yard.'"
However, another person did point out that the original hyacinth post was made without identifying a location, making it difficult to determine whether or not it was, in fact, invasive where it was planted.
Water hyacinth originated in the Amazon basin, but it is now pervasive throughout much of the U.S., according to Southeast Exotic Pest Control. With its ability to form incredibly dense floating mats, it ends up blocking sunlight from water, which harms the native plants and animals that live there.
For this reason, it's heavily limited in many states; in Michigan, per the state's Invasive Species Program, it can be planted privately, but it needs to be reported if seen outside of intended cultivation. And in Florida, it's flat-out illegal to possess, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The reason it must be so carefully controlled, one commenter explained, is that even if it's in a contained private pond, "if it rains/ floods, plant bits and seeds can get washed in to local rivers and ponds and spread."
And while they may never find out where the original hyacinth poster lives, it serves as an important reminder to always check your state's invasive species list before planting anything new — even in the privacy of your own yard.
🗣️ Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species?
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🔘 Depends on the animal 🤔
🔘 No way 👎
🔘 Just let people do it for free 🤷
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