I'm not sure of the names on these.
Lotus are blooming!!!
another that bloomed today
Here is another. I think this one might be named 'Empress'
Medium white 2nd day of bloom
Wow! If you ever remember the name of the first one please share. They are all gorgeous.
Lovely. We have two buds swelling on ours - no name - hope they look half so good!
What zone are you in may I ask, darlindeb? My 2nd year with a pink unknown Lotus, it seems late coming. Fertilized it accordingly, adequate sunlight, I'm yearning, yearning for the repeat blooms ~ with fingers crossed.
I've seen someone else post where I live as 6a. I hope that helps you. Here is my very tiny lotus. I'll try to catch it when it blooms.
Here was mine, around this time of year last summer.
What a lovely pink you have there Lily_love. If you've got nice leaves, I imagine a bud will be along any minute.
This is an old picture of 'Strawberry Blonde.' One of the parents of 'Strawberry Blonde' is said to be 'N. luteau or the 'American Lotus' which is yellow in color. I don't know what the other parent's name was.
This picture looks similar to the first photo in this thread; however, I'm not "seeing" the yellow color in today's first lotus.
Taken Monday - 'Mrs. Perry D. Slocum'
Now that's is what a I call the calibur of a Lutus!!!! snapple45. Congrats.
Awesome! Snapple45 tell me all about it. Somebody told me 'Mrs. Perry D. Slocum' was the best selling lotus of all time. Snapple45 do you know if that is true? How did you pot it? Do you feed it? If so, with what? How old is this pot of lotus?
CONGRATULATIONS!!! IT IS A BEAUTY!
Yes, inquiry mind likes to know as well. lol
Well, after taking a humble bow, I have to tell you it is fairly easy. I bought this tuber locally last spring because I had read that it was the best selling lotus. It was already potted in a 12' tub (enclosed bottom and sides). The tuber itself was about 8". It flowered. I used tablet fertilizer last year about 4 times and otherwise left it alone except to cut back the dead stuff when it began to go dormant. I left it in the pond over the winter in 2 ft. of water. I put a piece of plastic fencing over the pot to keep the koi from rooting it into oblivion over the winter.
In late March I hauled it up and repotted the entire root/tuber mass into a 24" tub using WM kitty litter. It had just broken dormancy. I put my hands under the plant mass and lifted it out in one peice, being very careful not to break the single leaf coming up because that was the growing point. I set the whole thing into the new tub already partially filled with wet kitty litter, added a little more kitty litter, and a Laguna fertilizer stake that feeds all season. After fastening plastic fencing with 1" holes completely over the top of the pot DH and I maneuvered it back into the pond into the 2 ft level. That was the hardest part. Twenty five lbs. of soaked kitty litter is really hard to handle. I had to get into the pond in 50 degree water. I havn't done a thing since. That whole plant is coming out of that 24" tub. Next spring it's either divide the tuber or go for a 36" tub.
Wow! Lots of hard work involved, but look at the fruitful results! Fantastic! I was wondering though, is there a special type of kitty litter that is just "Plain" and no chemical additives? I was thinking in term of the Kois' health as well as....well the Lotus just soaked it up, so no question there.
Love the photos and all the info Snapple45.
Any unscented, non-clumping, clay based kitty litter works. This is usually the cheapest available. Most posters here get the red bag at WallMart. There has been some discussion of what consistency the kitty litter takes when wet. In some areas it forms a good clay, in others (my area) it turns to mush. There appear to be regional producers for the product and the composition varies. In any case, its no problem - mush or clay.
It isnt hard. Just handle the tuber with care. The references all say that if you damage the growing point you will likely lose the plant. When the tuber breaks dormancy it is very easily damaged, so be extra careful then.
I have an adventure next spring because I suspect I will be dividing as well as repotting. I've never done that before but there is always DG!
OMG, Deb, you didn't tell me about all these lovely blooms!!!!! This is incredible. I am absorbing all the info I can get. I am determined to get this water garden started, but think I will have to wait till spring to do it. can't keep up with all my flowers right now...don't need to be starting another project.
Fever gone??
shar
Hi Sharon! Yupe, knock on wood fever is gone.
Yupe, dividing is tricky. I turn my pots upside down while dormant and wear rubber gloves and clothes I don't care about. Then I take the hose and with a gentle spray of water I remove he soil from the tubers.
I have gone to the shallower lotus pots since this above photo. I just use a couple of inches of my garden soil in mine and fertilizer tabs.
Here is a photo of a growing tip. When I have divided lotus pots I have found there is a great variation in the size of tubers I'll get from the same pot.
When you are dividing you will also come across long skinny things which I've heard referred to as runners. If I'm going to make a break it will be in th middle of a runner.
There is also some debate wheter a runner will make a plant. Also, will a broken tuber make a plant. A friend of mine who use to grow lotus commercially says she has experienced yes to both of those questions. I don't bother with broken ones if I have enough. I'm too afraid something will rot and get other stuff to rot.
This section within the two fuzzy bits is what I would call a runner.
Deb, I guess I lost the slip of the strawberry blonde you sent me.
Things had to be moved several times last year due to the drought.........and then there is the floods this year, sure takes a lot of stamina to be a gardener. anyway I thought ya"ll might like my previous years pictures of my lotus pond.
I know some people who float their lotus after division on top of the water. Others pot up the lotus and put a small rock on top of it to keep it in place.
Here is a group of tubers all from the same type of lotus and the same pot.
Well, Jackie I'll see if we can't find another one for you next year. The red swamp hibiscus has taken off and the the bouncing bet loves it here. I also have a very "contained" pot of the water clover you sent me. The gladstone water lily had 3 blooms at once. Love your lotus just makes me want to load up the tractor and the front end loader and raid your patch. LOL.
darlindeb - they say a picture is worth a thousand words. And yours - No kidding. What a teriffic help. You took a lot of time and put a lot of effort into taking those photos as you went along. Invaluable for someone like me who hasn't tackled the dividing job yet. Very grateful here. About how many tubers or sections do you put back into the pot?
I second snapple's sentiment regarding darling, darlingdeb. I thank you for caring and sharing. Jackieshar, beautiful job!
Deb,
Here is the Mother to your swamp Mallow. The wet weather has really been kind to my hardy hibiscus and the Rose of Sharons this year
Well, because I don't like dividing lotus (it's a dirty job). I usually just put one tuber in the center of the pot. Because I don't like chasing after tubers, I put a rock on my tuber laying on top of the soil with the growing point up. I just use regular garden soil or I have used bags of top soil. I did recently purchase a bag marked top soil from Wal-Mart and it had the little white things in the soil that float on the top of the water. The only reason I buy bagged soil is when I have to work at the school pond and it's just easier for me to haul a bag into the courtyard. Anyway, you DO NOT WANT THE LITTLE WHITE THINGS (Pearlite??) they float and make a mess and will clog pumps. NEVER BUY any bags marked POTTING SOIL TO USE IN THE POND because of the evil white floatie things.
Now having said that when I first started playing with lotus. I grew them in patio ponds. I think you can still find these at 'Home Depot' for about $30 or $40 bucks. I probably put 10 lotus in each patio pond. It was a very hot summer and I always made sure the plants had 4 or 5 inches of water above them. They did fantastic. I fertilized them with the only thing I new which was fruit tree spikes. I fertilized them every month. I talked them. I was amazed by those. Another weird thing I did was I put a couple of inches of white rock in the bottom of each patio pond. I have no idea why I did this or if it made any difference. I guess I was just used to putting drainage in other pots. This made the patio ponds alot heavier to deal with so I didn't do that in the future.
I still have those patio ponds and they get used for all kinds of things. Plant storage, starting baby plants, too lazy or tired to deal with some water plant at the moment. And my puppy dog has taken one over in the front as his personal swimming pool. You can also empty them out and put ice in them to hold loads of canned drinks. I have gotten my money out of those patio pools and they have held up.
Okay, back to dividing lotus. I think what I have here is a "mother" tuber. When you go to divide you will probably find some soft dead tubers. I was told this is normal. It's just the old generation passing on. There is also a "smell" that I can only describe as primordial.
Okay, it stinks. I also don't know how lotus turn regular garden soil into something like clay but that seems to be my observation. I toss the "mothers" and any broken tubers and excess runners. I gotta go play with my puppy dog. I'll try to send more photos tomorrow. Also, my way is not the only way.
Jackie mine is really coming along. I'm thinking of trying some in a pot in the pond at the school.
they divide for new starts pretty easy......they will do well in pots but will have to be divided regulary as the roots get bigger. I wonder too if those in pots would still be hardy enough to take your winter.
Jackie,
It all depends on the variety we have. I purchased my from a local grower, and was told that it's hardy. And it's! (see my post above). Only thing though, mine hasn't put out any flower bud yet, this year. I'm not doing something quite right here by my Lotus. Any pointer anyone can share?
Lily_Love is there a tree that has grown larger and shading your lotus or put another way is your lotus getting the same amount of sun? Did you feed your lotus any fertilizer? Does the lotus seem pot bound? Can you be gentle and stick a finger in the pot without running into a tuber? Is the lotus growing out of the pot?
The IWGS just put out a little booklet on knowing and growing lotus (of course, I haven't had time to read it) but I'll try and look in there and see if they have some suggestions/ideas and get back to you.
I went out to look at my lotus this morning and saw this little butterfly. I had never seen a butterfly in one before.
Lily_Love I do remember having some years where the lotus did better. I was talking to another watergardener and we had both had bumper crops of lotus one year and the next they just didn't seem to do nearly as well. Weather?
This is this mornings bloom. This one I seem to be able to see the yellow in so I'm thinking this one is 'Strawberry Blonde.'
Okay, and another picture from this morning.
All so lovely! darlindeb, thank you, for sharing the helpful info. The amount of sunlight perphaps has been reduced somewhat. And possible pot-bound as it seems. The small tub is filled with leave-stalks. So I did a little modified this morning. Just sink it into a bigger tub.
I've fertilized it with aquatic fertilizer tab, according to instruction. The growth look healthy. As far as repotting Lotus or devision, I gathered it's too late in the season to do so? I've an even smaller tub, where my seedings germinated on its own. I've several small stalks, last week, I broke off one, and shared with a friend with a new garden pond. It seems to do well, no problem with either (sibblings) lotus. So wish me lucks.
Thanks again.
Oh, Deb....I want to paint pictures of them.......they are so lovely, makes me drool.
Lily_Love yupe it is late in the season to divide. I'll try to post more about my adventures in dividing lotus tomorrow.
Ditto
Soooo beautiful... have any of my Southwest Gardening Forum friends successfully grown lotus'? (Okay, I've asked this before but am ever hopeful for the answer I want to hear...)
Brenda