Reproduction, as the older plants fail after blooming, rather like a
bromeliad.

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...
I put a bunch of WH in the indoor pond when I brought the fish in from the
cold. I started out with about half a pond full of WH. A few weeks into
the
experiment I checked the nutrients and everything was reading zero (N02,
N03, P04, etc.) The WH were doing OK,but not thriving. So I started
dosing
N03, P04 and Iron every week. Now I've got more WH than pond, I have to
pull
out a few WH each day to make a feeding hole. The WH are definitely
multiplying, although the roots could look a little better, proably the
mid
60s water temps.

I've been dead heading the decaying leaves, trying to reduce the DOCs and
giving me a bit more room. I've also been breaking off the established
runners, allowing me to squeeze in a few more plants. So I was wondering
what purpose the runners serve, other than reproduction? Although it will
be
a moot point very soon, as I will be forced to cull the herd.