Hi all, first post on this forum. I brought home my 1st lotus a couple of days ago. It is an Empress lotus(Nelumbo 'alba striata') potted in a large tub(20.5"d x 13"d). I have a old galvanized water trough I would like to put this plant in. Here are my questions;
Is it ok to use galvanized?
Will the pot the lotus is in be large enough to leave it in till next spring?
Do I need to do anything in particular before I put this plant in the trough?
I intend to fill the trough to a couple of inches deeper than the lotus and let the sun warm the water before I 'drop her in', good plan? Too deep? then gradually increase the depth? Help please, I'm probably over thinking this whole thing, aren't I?
I'm just very excited to find this girl locally, and such a nice big healthy looking plant.
Thanks in advance you all!
Lotus in a galvanized water trough?
Welcome Starina! I also have my 1st lotus this year. It is a dwarf.. From what I've read, your trough sounds fine. Warm the water and make sure it is not chlorinated (that's what I'd do). I don't think your are over thinking at all. How fun and exciting for you. I'm sure someone with more experience than I will post. Again, Welcome to the DG family!-Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, Thanks for the welcome! I'm really excited about this lotus too. I've been lusting over photos of them for some time.
No chlorine in the water here, we have our own well, and I filled the trough yesterday, will let it warm another day I think, it's been a little overcast today.
I'm amazed at how quicly the new leeaves increase. This plant is growing!!
Again, Thanks for the welcome!!
Welcome Starina and HI Bonnie :)
I have started lotus from seed. The first one from last year, I killed :( The one I started this year has 2 little pads on it and I will sink it down to the bottom of the pond for the winter and hopefully next spring I WON'T KILL IT! I ordered 3 lotus this spring from a company. It was still pretty cold here, so I had to put them in plastic tubs in the basement! I purchased a gh, put them in buckets and they took off! I finally got them out of the water and only one survived! So far so good, I found a huge tree pot and lined it with pond muck, got it into the pond and planted the lotus in it! No flowers yet, but lots of pads :) I have to put a few more fertilizer tabs in it tho!
Hi Tootsie,
How deep do they have to be in the winter (in the pond)? I even had a bud on mine, THEN disaster struck in the form of some varment! I almost cried and the bud turned brown and dried up :( Not sure if it was my cat, a stray cat, neighbors dogs, a racoon or what but, it sure made me angry. I read somewhere if you have to cut off leaves, cut above the water line, ever heard of that? (Some I did cut above the water line, but some were destroyed below the water level..... Now, I impatiently wait for another bud. I think they are heavy feeders...
Hi Tootsie,
Thanks for the welcome! The lotus in your photo looks nice and healthy.
Bonnie, I hope yours blooms soon. I can imagine how upset you were when your bud was damaged!! I read the same about the leaves, best to just leave them alone. I believe they are heavy feeders, however if overfertilized they may not bloom? If someone with experience with this would let us know, it would be great!
I'll take pic's of mine as soon as I replace our DC.
I guess I'll google about the winterizing.. and let you know. Searched around DG but couldn't find anything on care.. (may be here, but I can't find it)
Welcome Starina!! I am no expert but I have to interject about the galvanized trough. Are going to put it inside the pond.??The reason is time will corrode the container and if you have fish it might not be good for them. I am sure an expert will have answer. Bellie
Hi Bellie,
I think for this trough, I'm just going to use mosquito dunks(as soon as I find some!). The trough is a galvanized stock tank, they don't corrode for a long time. I'm hoping to have a 'real'(dug) pond before then.
This plant has more then doubled in the short time I've had it. I'm in love with it, lol. I'm holding off on any fertilizing, on the theory that they probably really puh these along at the growers. Any thoughts on this?
I am also growing my first lotus - Mrs. Perry D. Slocum. I purchased it already rooted in a small round black tub. It is in the pond in one foot of water with about 5 inches over the top of the mud in the tub. I have fertilized it twice, June 23rd and July 23 with three pond tabs each time. I have had one flower. The leaves are really getting huge. There is another flower bud on the way. I drilled holes in the lip of the tub and with wire ties fastened green plastic fencing over the top of the tub. The fencing has one inch holes which allows for the leaf and flower stalks to easily grow through but keep the rowdy, rooting koi out. I read, and was told by the nursery that sold me the tuber, that a lotus should be planted in a round container, not one with square corners. They say that the roots reach the corner and stop and then the plant dies. I found a fairly inexpensive large lotus tub www.petsr4u.com/products.asp?cat=410. Next spring I am going to move the entire tuber into this tub, with new fencing attached. The pond only has room for one large lotus, so this is it folks. So far, so good - beginner's luck!
Snapple, that is beautiful! My lotus(Empress) is planted in the large round tub they have listed. I just put it in the stock tank yesterday. Can't wait to see a bud!!(please oh please) Thanks for posting the link and a picture of your beautiful pond and garden. Very nice.
Auntie B.
Soory I have been sick :( 2 infected ears, chest, head, LOL I wanted to let you know, the lotus goes down into your pond just below where your water freezes! I drop mine down 14 ft, don't know why? Maybe cause I send them down and hope the Koi don't go investigate! I talked to the fella I purchased my lotus from and he said that I should be adding more pond tabs every month! Not just the one or two, but as many as 6.....Yes, 6 of em!! He said they are most heavy feeders and we here in zone 5/6 only have a limited time left so see a bloom! Well, I just did put in about 4 pond tabs and will just wait to see if I even get a bud?? I am still feeding the baby fish I got out of the pond, the freeze dried shrimp, and AM WAITING ON TIPPE TOES, so see SOMETHING that resembles a Koi, LOLOLOL
Oh, Snapple, that is a gorgeous pic/speciman. Just lovely, so stately and proud! Tootsie, sorry to hear you've been ill :( My little puddle is only a foot and a half deep. (Star, I sent you another dmail) I think I will be wintering my dwarf in the basement...
tootsie, you should see the lotus already responding to the plant tabs. And you will see growth slow down when they are exhausted. With the heat we are having here, and Lotus luuuuuuuuve the heat, I might fertilize again in three weeks instead of four, which would probably be for the last time this season :>( Gosh time flys. Oh, and when the bud stalk shoots up, look out, it can grow 5 or 6 inches overnight. I did read somwhere though that some lotus just don't bloom the first year after division no matter how good the conditions are, but that they more than make up for it in the second year. Patience is the key. Too bad I don't have any. LOL
Snapple,
What plant tabs are you using? I hope I get a bloom this year, sigh... Patience? hah!
Thanks Bonnie, I'll go look now.
The bottle says "Pondtabbs" manufactured by Plantabbs Products - P.O. Box 165 Hunt Valley, MD 21030. One of numerous places to purchase them is www.ponds2go.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=0176. I have a hardy water lilly, Colorado, which is responding well to Laguna "once-a-year" fertilizer spikes. It is a plastic tube which is supposed to feed the entire season. The lilly was repotted this spring and looks really good, three and four blooms at a time. Also on the market, which I have never used but may try in a dwarf Perry's red hardy water lilly, are AgSafe Aquatic Spikes. They also are a once a year deal. The plastic tube spikes will have to come out at the end of the season. The AgSafe spikes dissipate entirely, nothing left to remove. As I don't relish climbing in and out of the pond every three to four weeks the once a season stuff seems very attractive. When I went to feed the Lotus the second time I slipped off the 1 ft ledge into the deep part, (3 1/2 ft) and went bobbing around for a little bit. I had minor foot surgery three weeks earlier and wasn't real steady on my feet. Then I had one heck of a time climbing out. Did you know koi are real curious about human legs in the water? And goldfish think shorts should be explored?
Oh, Snapple! Sorry to hear about your unscheduled dip with the fish, and koi ARE just that way.... The goldfish? I never heard anything about such behavior, guess koi have better manners than to explore that way! :)
I have a Perry's dwarf red and Helvolia, cat kind of rearranged them, now I can't remember which is which...
Hi Aunt B and Snapple45,
I looked up the link for fert. tabs, and yes thats the same one I purchased #25 tabs for $5.99 at Menards, BUT only because I ran out of the ones I purchased early last summer! I buy these plant tabs #100 for ten dollars, the same ingredients as all the others too!! I am waiting for my shipment to arrive :) I was at the pond on sunday, trying to get the last of the pond tabs into their pots, when yep, I skidded down on my butt, LOL It's kinda of slippery near the shallow end of the pond and the clay gets a lil dicey!! I too wondered and really was wishing that it was the Koi lurking around my legs in the water and NOT THE DARN BULLHEADS(YUCK), compliments of the little friendly ducks that appear from time to time in the pond! ACK, just looking at those, well guess they are like squiggly bones on either side of their faces, I hope they don't brush up against me!! When I start feeding the Koi those creaturers are the first ones to arrive! At first glance it looks at tho there are terrestrial visitors swarming in the pond in a huge black circle:(
Geesh, I hope I don't have their babies in my kiddie pools?? Oh, and patience, no I am not long on that either, or so I have been told, LOLOL
Snapple45 wrote "Did you know koi are real curious about human legs in the water? And goldfish think shorts should be explored?"
Ok, that had me laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. Did you do the same special dance I do when something sort of freaks me out a little? It consist of sort of an awkward jog in place with flailing hands, sometimes odd sounds come out of my mouth too, lol. I'm fairly clutzy so I have many opportunities to pracice this.
Seriously, I'm glad you're ok.
Tootsie, bullheads sound a little scarier then koi or goldfish.
I like the sound of the once a year deal!
Thanks for the info, you all. Stay cool.
How long from seed to flower for a Louts thanks paul
Well, the lotus plant has more than doubled in size in the stock tank, but no buds. I stare at it several times a day, trying to will one into existence, lol. I do hope she blooms this year!
Wow, how exciting! I bet the buds will pop up soon. I doubt that I get any this year, I'll blame it on the varment... Paul, I have no idea about the seed to flower. I tried in March to grow from a tuber and failed at that. Guess I'm too impatient but again will have to have patience to see a bloom next year, probably. Someone will surely pop in here and help you.-Bonnie
It took my tuber 3 years to finally bloom for the first time. Seeds I have not been so lucky with.
Paul, Last year I started the seeds. There were many lily pads on them when it was time to put them down into the pond. I turned the plastic box(I had them in) over and saw a huge tuber on the bottom!! I then put it in pond clay and sunk them down, this spring I brought up the plastic box and tried to get the tuber out to re-plant it and put in some pond tabs, BUT, I was too clumsy and broke off the tips and it died :( HOWEVERA, i AM GOING TO DO IT AGAIN, AND I JUST KNOW THIS TIME I WILL HAVE POND LILIES!!
Paul, Last year I started the seeds. There were many lily pads on them when it was time to put them down into the pond. I turned the plastic box(I had them in) over and saw a huge tuber on the bottom!! I then put it in pond clay and sunk them down, this spring I brought up the plastic box and tried to get the tuber out to re-plant it and put in some pond tabs, BUT, I was too clumsy and broke off the tips and it died :( HOWEVERA, i AM GOING TO DO IT AGAIN, AND I JUST KNOW THIS TIME I WILL HAVE POND LOTUS!
It's alive!! yay! I've been wondering if I killed this lotus, but it has 4 small new leaves. And now a question, do I cut off last years dead growth, or just ignore it? I'm thrilled to see the new growth, maybe it'll bloom this year?