Lotus fertilizer

Those of you who grow lotus, what are you using for fertilizer? TIA

I use pond lilly aquatic tablets.
I wonder if you really need to fertilize your water lillies and lotuses,I hvae heard some folks say they never feed and theyn bloom like crazy,then others say won't bloom if I don't feed.
Any takers to this question to feed or not!!!

I feed but I think you can over do it. I use some Black Cow compost in the mix when I pot and thereafter I usually use osmocote. I wrap about a tablespoon of it inside a little packet made out of newspaper and insert the packet down into the pot near the edge. I use 2 for a small pot and 4 for a large one. I only do this about twice during the summer.

Sounds interesting,and you get plenty of blooms,by doing this type of fertilizing?
Most web sites I found say lotus are heavy feeders during the warm months feed twice a month.
A lady here in town uses the fruit tree spikes and gets good results,but she also has fish in her pond,and I don't know for sure how much they contribute to the fertilization,but yet hers are not in pots,but her pond are rubber liners,with a mud bottom.

Yep.. The cow compost gives them a jump start in the early spring and then a couple of applications of fertilizer after that seems to do well. I dont like to fertilize after July 4. I think they can be heavy feeders but I have also heard of other folks that fertilized young lotus alot and they didnt seem to tolerate it well.


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What a beautiful plant Charlotte, is it Chawan Basu? Obviously, yours have done very, very well. I guess the Osmacote does not hurt the fish? alice

Yes it is Chawan.. no the Os doesnt hurt fish... I use it for my lilies also ! However...most of my lotus are not in the pond as I feel the extra fertilizer I give them might contribute to green water and I sure dont want that !! :) I've been selling some extra tubers to make money to buy a new skimmer this summer. The ones I dont sell will be potted up and placed in the pond directly but I wont fertilize them much.

I thought that was what it was, I had one years ago in a previous home in Columbia. I bought mine at that place in Franklin, NC, have you ever been there when the lotus were blooming?

No I havent.. I bet it is lovely. I get into enough trouble by walking through the bontanical Garden at Clemson :)

See waaay to many things I would love to have !

I just remembered it was called Perry's Water Garden and it is really not too far from Pickens. Your ought to take a drive this summer but be smart and leave your credit cards at home. LOL

i use jobe fertlizer stakes