I just thought I would post some pics I took this week.

waterlily and pond


purple pickeral rush and iris


lotus bud. It bloomed today.


Lotus leaf and bud.


Donna

Too bad I can't have a lotus without a pond they sure are pretty. I've never seen the purple ones like that. What other colors do they come in?

TK, You don't have to have a pond to have a lotus.
There are 3 sizes of lotus. The large like above, dwarf and bowl. The large I grow in ground but my dwarf are in 18 gallon pots. The bowl lotus can be grown in as small as 10" pots. But if you grow a lotus in a pot and it freezes during winter in your area you have to put the pot where the tuber can't freeze.

Pickerel comes in blue, pink, white, purple and variations of these colours. The most common is the purple I believe.

Here is a picture of some of my pots.


Donna

10 inch pot huh. How tall does it have to be? or is that the height in which case how big around? I think I mean what dimensions does the pot need to be. Um, am I making sense?

I understand.
From what I understand it has to be 10" wide. They don't grow deep into the dirt until winter. They will however out grow a 10" pot in 1 season and need to be divided. They only need around 6" of dirt and 1"-6" of water over them. If they are going to be wintered outside/ in ground they need more. The tuber can't freeze or it will kill them.

Donna

Thank you for the information. I think I would like to try one. I'll watch the stores closely next year for one of the tubers. Um if it isn't to much bother could you tell me what conditions they like. Full sun/shade, fertilizer, stuff like that?

No Problem! Lotus need full sun to flower properly. They make an aquatics fertilizer but I just use jobes or miracle grow plant spikes for fertilizer. They are heavy feeders and once they have aerial leaves they need to be fed atleast once a month. Don't fertilize until they have aerial leaves or it will burn them and kill them. They like regular garden dirt too(not bagged).

Donna

How do they feel about clay. I have lots and lots of clay lol. Regular garden dirt on the other hand is kind of hard to come by. I have to fight the poison oak for it.

They handle clay very well. That is all I have.

Donna

Thank you, The idea of having a lotus is just wonderful. I can't wait to find one after I get ahead alittle. This is going to be so cool.

Donna, how long do the pots you are using last?

Howdy!
I have had some of the pots for 4 years. I will need to replace 2 or 3 this fall/spring when I divide. They seem to hold up rather well except the handles. The handles pull out easily.

Donna

ok, that answers that. thank you! i have several of those, and you are right, the handles do pull out way too easily.

So do you plant the lotus in the pot and add water to cover it?

Howdy Karrie

The way I do it is put the dirt in the bottom of the pot, make a trench and lay the tuber in it. Place a small rock over the tuber but not touching the growing tips and then put about 3" of water over it. As the summer warms up I add more water so I don't have to add water to the pots everyday.

Donna

Thank you I am going to try my hand at these next year. Now I just gotta find some. I have never seen them in this area. Do you just get yours at a nursery or what. I think I will call my nursery and see if they can order them this comeing season. They are great about that!

Most of my local nurseries want a fortune ($80+)for them so I order them online. The only time you can order tubers online is between Jan and March.

Found that out today looking at online pond stores. That is how I will do it.