Rich, I've wondered the same thing. Mine isn't dying, but it hasn't multiplied the way it usually does. I'm used to throwing lots of it in the compost pile by this time of the year. However, the fairy moss (azolla) is reproducing so fast I give about 4 gallon bags of it away every week and my pond is only about 5'X3' - not big at all. Luckily there are lots of people I know with ponds, so I always have takers for it.

Anne

I am the same way. Last summer, they were beautiful and multiplied. This year they are a total dud. I sometimes wonder if it is the chemistry of the water, but I haven't done anything different.

Same here with water lettuce on Long Island NY. It never grew, stayed little and a complete dud. My other (potted) plants in the pond are spectacular.

Got my lettuce via EBay from Florida same as last year, just different vendor. Last year's vendor got shut down as he was taking plants from a local pond, treating for parasites, and mailing them out without any license.

I am having the same problem. But it's my first year. I wonder why this seems to be a common issue...

If you have koi they often eat the roots, this gets worse as they grow and get bigger.

your filtration/cleaning of ponds/plant growth may not leave many nutrients for them. You can dip them into a bucket of liquid fertilizer diluted at half strength for a day or too and rinse well and put back.

they may not be getting enough sun or heat, they are both tropical plants, want warm water and sun.

My goldfish have been stripping the roots, too. We had some trees removed which upped the level of sunlight so the foliage has remained nice which is a change. I expected the extreme heat would hurt but that hasn't been the case.

Well I do have a lot of goldfish in the pond this year, maybe they are eating the roots.

I did water lettuce last year and it was beautiful. I guess I'll do that again next year.

Rich

Same here, south central Oklahoma. We have had daily temps of near or several degrees above 100 since about the first of June. Many plants just appear to be cooking in the heat. At the nursery where I hang out those in the middle of the tank where they are shaded by the other plants are doing well. Those on the edges of the tank -- leaves turning yellow around the edges of just dying.
Some will survive and there will be another and cooler year!!

My goldfish never bothered my WH roots till this year. They almost killed them before I moved them to another part of the same system where they can not reach them. At first I thought it was just spawning activity but found they were eating the roots along with any watercress that reached pond level growing from the filter falls.

They have certainly had the warm weather and warm water this year, so that isn't their problem. We have busted temperature records and with no rain since June, its been awful. Have cracks so big in yard, if you are not careful you will trip. Last year and this year I added the WH plants to the waterfall box and the pond itself. They didn't grow in either spot. But everything else looks good. I have bog bean, parrot feather, arrowheads, horsetail rush, creeping jenny, and the waterlily. All very pretty.

Also bad water Hyacinth here in WI. Wonder now also about the goldfish. Have the same amount of fish and plants as last year but the fish are much bigger (same fishies) they also have eaten through all of the Anacharis grass we got for them to eat and have replenished a few times. Last year it grew faster than they could eat it. Perfect. Water lily never got big this year either.