I got my co-op order including three Lotus corms. I've never had a Lotus but understand that they grow up and out of the water?
I googled for some instructions and they're all over the place but with most recommending garden soil to plant them in. Will kitty litter do? Or do they really like to grow in regular dirt? At this point I set them in buckets of pond water to let them start growing a little. They are floating and I hope that's OK. I note that they are not supposed to be deeper then 10" under water when planted but need full sun. That would mean I need to build something for them to sit up on. Will these plants get top heavy and fall over? I was going to buy some fairly flat plastic round containers tonight. I hope the plant will vover them up as such things don't really look pretty in a pond.
I was also wondering if I can grow a lotus in one of my bio filters? No dirt in there. Just scowring pads. :-) They would get nice full sun though.
Comments?
Fred
Texas waterlilies etc arrived
My lotus is not in my pond, but in large containers beside my pond. I have them in garden soil. I gently laid the tubers down on top of the soil and then weighted them down with a couple of rocks. I then filled up the containers with water and placed them in full sun. I also got mine from Texas Waterlilies and was rewarded with blooms that very year.
Lotus tubers like sandy clay soil. Top soil or sandy loam,stay away from dark black soil which makes the tuber rot. The sandier the better I have found. There are large varieties,medium and small or dwarf plants. The dwarf type are sometimes called pot lotus. Any type will grow in containers. The container size depends on the type of tuber or plant you have. I have found that any size will grow in a whisky barrel size planter. I have planted large varieties in a shallow flat wide plastic pot. 6 to 8 inches of soil is amble to grow a Lotus tuber in. I fill the pot with soil then create a trench type indention to place the tuber in making sure the growing tips are pointing up and the body of the tuber is completely covered except the tips.Placing pea gravel over the soil will help keep the tuber anchored down or similar material. After this place this pot in your water container be it a pond or whisky barrel type planter.Gently let the water cover the growing pot. Saturating your growing pot first will also help get the air out before flooding is done. Cover with up to 8 inches of water but less can be used. Lotus are a bog plant and grow well on the edge of ponds. Your first leaves will float then later others will shoot up and stand erect,patience is needed when growing Lotus.They need water tempertures above 70 f to really start growing good. I also always place a pond tab 3 to 4 inches under the newly planted tuber which can be done when placing the first soil in the growing pot. I do not fertilize again untill I have standing leaves. Fertilizing sooner can burn the leaves which are floating. Also never use a liquid insectizide on your leaves as this will also burn your leaves which have a natural oil coating on them which repels water. Lotus need frequent fertilizer after good standing growth has started. I do this at least every 2 weeks to the side and under the tuber. One to 2 tabs will do. Good luck and email if you have any questions. Full sun is the best and growing in a container type pot you can move your plant around to the sun if needed. Expect blooms mid summer. TomSG
Thanks Rylaff and TomSG,
both of you seem to like the lotus pot plant idea but I want to have these plants in my pond. What I read from you is that kitty litter maybe mixed with some sand should be good growing material. My problem is that the koi will empty the pots in no time and they therefore need to be protected via some kind of netting. I was in my pond today and there are rocks and gravel all over the bottom with several pots completely empty. The koi seem to somehow spread everything all over the place. I've found waterlili corms in my skimmer as they were completely dug out of their pots.
So, never having seen a live lotus growing I'm curious as to how you protect your flat pots against marauding fish. Would a 1/2 inch plastic netting work for the lotus? How fat are the stems?
As to my question about growing them in my biofilters (2 150 gals), I guess I can sink a pot in there to see how that would work.
I'll also have to build up some stonework to elevate the plants to 8-10 inches under water. For now they are all in buckets, with the rim above the water level, sitting in my water flow area. The water is shallow there and I'll wait until I see some signs of growth coming out of the corms.
Is there a way to tell which types are small, medium or large? I have Lavender Lady, Tulip and Ben Gibson types.
fred
Thanks for all the great growing info. I too have received my Texas waterlily co-op plants. I have potted up my waterlilies and marginal plants and have them sitting in a large pan of water in the house for now. But I still haven't potted up the lotus yet. I'm wondering how long I can keep them before potting them up. I have 5 of them and finding something large enough to hold them over in while I wait for the temps to rise is proving a little difficult. Could I plant them in pans with gravel on top and then just add several inches of water in the pans to cover them over for the time being? Oh what I wouldn't give for a children's swimming pool right now.
Fred, I use black milk crates to sit my plants on. I set the crate in the bottom with a couple of bricks on top of them to adjust the height up a little. You can stack them on top of each other if you need too. They aren't that noticeable in my pond and the smaller fish can use them as a protected spot from some of the bigger fish.
This thread has some information on koi proofing and the use of kitty litter. About halfway down there is a pic I posted of my lotus tub, in the pond, that the koi can not tear up. It works.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/694936/
Wow Snapple, I reviewed that kitty litter thread and finally saw a lotus growing full size in your pond. Now I know what to look forward to. The have some real tiny roots or corms and a giant turnip type lotus. I can only assume that the tiny roots will grow up to be small lotus while the big turd will become a giant lotus. The other lotus is in between size. All are now floating in pond water with me waiting for something to happen. My your pond rocks are clean. Mine are full of muck or algae. Even the waterlily stems have algae on them. Must be the missing UV light. :-) My water is clear but I'm taking algae out of my pump strainers daily. The mechanical filters take about 3 to 4 days to become dirty with algae and have to be cleaned. I got rid of my string algae with green clean.
You gave me a great idea as to how to start to feed the plants using little baggies of osmacote or similar slow release food. But being that the plants need lots of food, how do you feed them when you have them covered with screen material? I guess one can cut a hole and push a rod thru. The fish are too big to get thru the hole.
The idea of using black milk crates is good to but where does one get those things?
One more question. Do you or anybody label your waterplants and if so, how?
Fred
Places like Wal-mart or Kmart even Lowes or Home Depot maybe Dollar Store. They sell a fancier version that is used for storage. Some have an edge that a hanging file will fit on and they became petty popular for teens rooms, they stack them like cube storage. I myself have both real milk crates and the purchased kind. They come in handy for a lot of things. I used them when I went to a plant swap I could pack the bottom with some of the larger plants and then set flats on top of them. You could check with a local dairy they may have some you could buy or possibly some damaged ones that would be good enough for you to use.
UV's rock! Well worth the cost.
Holly,
a locaL DAIRY???? I don't think they have those things anymore. Milk comes from supermarkets. :-)
But I will look for the crates.
I guess one can't label water lilies and lotus, right?
fred
Hey Fred, I'm from Pa. dairy capital of the world. Find out who delivers milk to your local store they will have a warehouse someplace. Maybe in Pa. LOL
I haven't tried to label any of my pond plants. Do you want to mark the pots so you know what they are when you move them? Or did you want something you can see from the surface. If you just want to mark the pots there are several different things you can do.
How funny!
There are 2 ways I can travel to get to work - both ways have a working dairy! There is even a cow crossing on the one route as the barn is on one side of the street and the field for the cows is on the other side! Wish I had a picture!
Carolyn
I came up with this idea and it has worked pretty well for me. A friend was throwing out some cheap PLASTIC window blinds. I would not use metal in a water garden setting because I'd be afraid the fish might hurt themselves when spawning.
Anyway, I pulled out the individual slats and I would write the info I wanted about the lotus very heavy in permanent marker. I used the 'Sharpie' brand of marker. I lay the slat across the bottom of the pot I'm using. I then add soil and plant and add water. Then I slowly add the pot to the pond.
The soil and plant anchor the plant info in place. The plastic is flexible enough to where I can bend it to hide it more in the soil if I want.
It's nice to know what's in a pot in the spring so you can put the smaller type water lilies and lotus closer to the surface. However, since you are in Florida that may not be that much of a big deal there.
Oh my darlin deb,
what a wonderful picture of a pond of lilies and other plants. Your idea of labeling answers one question for me. You say the permanent marker will stay permanent under water? I just don't have any old window blinds around but will find something to put into the pots to write on. My objective was only to preserve the name in case I need or want to know what something is simply because it's so nice, or not.
Thanks for the post.
Fred
PS here's my box of labeling 'stuff' which just arrived.
The cheap blind slats seem to have a little bit of a porous texture which may be the reason they hold the ink. I know that it will work up to 3 years underwater for me (It might last longer), but I can vouch for 3 years. I like having the label run under the plant because it doesn't come lose and wind up on the bottom of the pond where I might step on something and puncture the liner. My fear with metal labels is that I'll step on them put a hole in the liner.
Here is a photo of a tag that was under water for probably 3 years. Now I do have to scrape the algae stuff off sometimes to read something.
In my regular above ground vegetable garden I have used commercially made white plastic labels and used a Sharpie to write on them and the ink has just disappeared.
This was another frustration of mine. If water lilies are happy and fed with commercial fertilizer, they pop out of the standard light weight pot within in a year or two. Since I'm waiting to win the lottery, that $5.00 bucks or so I spend on a pot is like tossing cash out the window. $5 X 30 plus pots equals money I would have rather spent on me.
Here is what routinely happened with my standard pots.
This message was edited Feb 29, 2008 7:41 PM
This message was edited Feb 29, 2008 8:02 PM
My solution to the breaking pot problem was to switch to farm animal feed dishes. The water lilies just grow up and out of the pot and these dishes don't break. I think these feed dishes will out last me. Weight wise they are a bit heavier then the standard pot, but I don't have to buy them again and again. Also, if the plant becomes root bound I can slip my hand under the plant and place fertilizer tabs in the very bottom of the animal feed dish and put the water lily back down.
This message was edited Feb 29, 2008 7:57 PM
What a great idea. I think I still have a couple of those old feed tubs still down in the barn, left over from when we had horses. They are indestructible.
Those are GREAT ideas!
I love the mini-blind slats idea very much and how you actually placed them. I bought some lilies in the co op last year and as hard as I tried to keep them straight, I am afraid until they start to bloom, I will have no idea on the names! Sticking even plastic markers into the planting medium never kept them in one place with the fish...
I also have had to re-buy the large pots when they crumble and burst beneath the roots of the waterplants. I have often had to destroy them myself as I cut them apart down the sides to even begin to transplant. Water iris is also one of the culprits that can easily ruin a pot!
There is a farm supply store not far away (hey, this IS Lancaster, PA!) so I know where I will be going for my next plant pots...
No matter how long I water garden, I have learned so much on DG. Putting our heads together helps us all.
RatherB
On Feb 22 I posted asking about the Lotus tubers I had just received. I put them into buckets of water the next day and stuck one little piece that fell off another root into some clay. I checked today to see if I could see any growth anywhere. Boy, was I surprised. The little piece is growing and already has a leaf at water level. I will add some rocks and food and let it grow where it is. See picture.
Fred
and take a look at how fast these babies grow. The two leaves must be 10 inches long already. I can't believe this. No roots here yet but lots of growth.
I guess it's time to plant these babies as the roots are sprouting and they are growing fast
They look Great! That is one good thing about water plants...they grow so fast-they grow before your very eyes!
Fredrump I'm so jealous. What all did you get in the way of plants from Texas Water Lilies? What was the cost? Where did you get your labeling stuff from?
It's suppose to snow here tomorrow. I have a few crocus blooming (yawn).
I did some early planting in my vegetable garden and I can see a few things sprouting, but they are suppose to be winter hardy. I guess I'll find out.
Darlindeb (love that handle)
You seem to be a curious one. :-)
Let me see now. I got:
Lotus
Lavender Lady @ $10.95
Tulip @ $8.95
Ben Gibson @ $9.95
Tropical lilies
Nymphea Ceorulea @ $5.95 each
Pink Pearl @ $5.95 each
Red Flare @ $5.95 each
Jack Wood @ $7.95 each
Panama Pacific @ $6.95 each
Albert Greenburg @ $6.95 each
The folks there don't count too closely as several had more then what was ordered, plus I got an extra hardy lily. I guess they bonus things in these co-op sales. I had never participated in one. Seems to work out nicely. I'm also waiting on a large order of caladiums on another co-op sale. Mine are presently popping out which is a good time to plant new ones where there aren't any.
As to the labeling, I actually started making some today. I got some slanted label stakes which have like a blackboard surface to write on. Looks really neat. I'm still curious if the wet chalk actually is wheather proof. I got them from http://www.dpind.com
The blackboard things are: Nursery Blackboard Sign 16 in. (P/N BB16) 2-1/2" x 4", 16" tall Nursery ANGLED Chalkboard T-signs (25/cs.) $31.00 (not cheap but I wanted to see and test them)
I kind'a miss my crocuses and easter lilies up north but not too much. :-)
Fred
This message was edited Mar 2, 2008 11:19 PM
Your plants look great. I potted up my hardy water lilies and my marginal plants but I haven't potted up the lotus yet. I will be doing them soon. The lilies don't seem to be doing much yet but the marginals are taking off. This was my order from the Texas Water Lily Co-op. I was very pleased with the condition of my plants, but I didn't get any extra.
Lotus
1 Ben Gibson
1 Carolina Queen
1 Mrs. Perry D. Slocum
1 Sunflower
Marginals
2 Green Taro
1 Variegated Four Leaf Clover
1 Pink Pickerel Plant
Hardy Waterlilies
1 Charlies Choice
1 Hollandia
1 Bugandy Princess
1 Sulphurea
Holly,
I see you live near York. My son used to go to school at St Francis Prep there at the old Gladfelter Estate. It's gone now. Anyway, I got my marginals last year and have them coming out of my ears now. Hardy lilies don't like it here too much. I think they expect a break.
Are your lotuses sprouting like mine or is it the warm weather here? Just wondering where you keep them up in the cold country.
Here's my marginals now.
fred
I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the plants yet. Nothing like being prepared. LOL I potted up everything except the Lotus in 4 inch plastic pots just temporary and put them all in an old plastic refrigerator bin filled with water. That is sitting with my house plants and the lotus are still in their peat moss and plastic bags. But one of them was just showing signs of sprouting when they came. I have those in a cooler dark spot hoping to slow them down a little. One of my water features is a bird bath with a concrete well under it. It's only about 5 - 6 ft across but it is 3ft deep. I over winter my pond plants in that and I also have a floating heater in there. The water isn't warm but it keeps it above freezing. I would like to take the water lilies out and putting them in there, but I have had them in the house for a couple of weeks sitting in what is probably 80 degree water and I'm not sure how they will adjust to the quick temp change. Probably should have put them out right away.
Well, I just came back in from putting the waterlilies out in my small pond. I went out to fill the bird feeders and took a really good look in the pond. The fish are moving around pretty well and there is signs of growth in the plants that have been overwintering. The water iris is looking pretty green one of the water lilies has some pads up and the blue pickerel is pushing out shoots. I bet that water is up to 60 degrees. I put out all the water lilies but kept the marginals in the house. They will be easy to keep with the house plants till spring. Here is what my Birdbath/Pond looks like right now, you can see the plants that have been overwintering in it.
Notice the little bit of ice and snow in the top. Where the driftwood shades it from the sun.
This message was edited Mar 3, 2008 11:53 AM
Yesterday the outside temps were in the 40's and today they are already in the 50's. This warm break will give me a chance to go out and dig up some of my garden soil for the Lotus. I have been told that the clay garden soil will be better for the Lotus than potting soil. I will dig up a couple of buckets and bring them into the mud room (an appropriate place) to warm up and maybe I will be able to pot them up and get them into the pond tomorrow. Although winter is not done with us yet and I expect to get some more cold weather along with some ice and snow before spring comes. Here is a picture from early last summer. By the end of summer you couldn't see any of the water surface.
I couldn't resist adding this deep winter picture as well. It was taken after one of the storms. We had snow and freezing rain. The frozen waterfall is a result of the freezing rain. It's hard to tell but the pond it's self isn't actually frozen the snow kind of piled up on top of the water and the frozen waterfall stops where it touches the top of the water. Our heater is a floating heater but this year it decided not to float but it still heats the water to above freezing. You can see the pond iris's green tips sticking out under the snow. Those large rocks behind the bird bath were moved over from the neighbors house in the background and will be used when we put in the large pond.
Looks like you all got some great deals on water plants. Send up a flare (or D-mail) next time a co-op order rolls around.
This is the labeling system I'd like to get for my land plants. www.alitags.co.uk. It's pricey;however, it looks like a permanent way to mark things.
This is off topic, but fredrump, I have vacationed in Naples twice and Marco Island, too. I love your area. I bought my banana plant from Napes in a nursery near our hotel. The kids buy tshirts...I buy plants to remember my vacation spots.
Sorry, for going off topic. I just had to get that out...Now back to the topic of water plants...
RatherBDigging,
next time you visit Naples be sure to send me an email to see if I'm in the area. Then come and visit. That goes for any member of this list. We usually buy mugs at significant stops. :-)
Anyway, back to my lotus and lilies purchases. I've tried to incorporate as much as I could from list members in planting my little flowers. I went looking here and there for milk crates as we have no dairies that I know of in these parts and finally found what I was looking for where I had normally given up finding anything - at Kmart. They seem to have restocked their local store and are going for another attempt to lure customers. I was surprised at all the new stuff I found.
My normal storage house, Wallmart struck out but I did buy five trays for drying dishes as I thought an inverted tray would give me the proper hight which a full milk crate would not. Like I might need a milk crate and a half. Got 5 bags of kitty litter at wallyworld too. Of course passing through the plant section without buying something was also impossible.
So here is some of my stock.
For the Lotuses I bought fairly shallow bowls and poked holes through the top sides for a plastic net type cover to keep the buggers from digging up my plants.
For the lilies I used various old plant containers also out of plastic but deeper. I covered the holes on the bottom with some material and in both cases put some garden soil on the bottom and filled the rest with kitty litter.
After I had cut the netting and placed the plants, I added a few rocks on top of the net to keep it low enough for the small shoots to find a way through the net.
Oh boy, is that all going to be just gorgeous. You'll have to start charging for tours.