Growing 'Sacred Lotus' - Nelumbo nucifera -

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I've got several Nelumbo nucifera seedlings. I've tried them previously in a 20 gallon tub but they didn't survive the summer, perhaps the water was too warm? Any ideas, prior successes?

Karl
San Jose, California.
 
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How long did they survive in the 20gl tub?
What kind of water (city, well, pond..) were they in?
Were they fed?
I'm not saying this is what killed your seedlings, but could be that in plain water they didn't get adequate nourishment
 
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They survived till about September, here, September is still very warm. I put them in clay pots about 8" diameter in native (silty, stoney rather poor) soil submerged in, like I said, a 20 gallon tub. Our city does douse the water with chloramine. Per my somewhat faulty recollection, at the start I treated the water with chloramine remover (some sort of hydrosulfite stuff I use for my koi pond) I did add a very small amount of miracle grow. Yeah, they're supposed to be fairly easy, I've seen them growing like mad in Japan in very warm weather. Probably need much bigger pots with richer soil and always use chloramine remover when topping up the container???? Or use koi pond effluent? Some day I do want to start a proper water garden, separate from the koi pond, I find they'll eat just about anything except cat tails and horse tails....
 
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They survived till about September, here, September is still very warm. I put them in clay pots about 8" diameter in native (silty, stoney rather poor) soil submerged in, like I said, a 20 gallon tub. Our city does douse the water with chloramine. Per my somewhat faulty recollection, at the start I treated the water with chloramine remover (some sort of hydrosulfite stuff I use for my koi pond) I did add a very small amount of miracle grow. Yeah, they're supposed to be fairly easy, I've seen them growing like mad in Japan in very warm weather. Probably need much bigger pots with richer soil and always use chloramine remover when topping up the container???? Or use koi pond effluent? Some day I do want to start a proper water garden, separate from the koi pond, I find they'll eat just about anything except cat tails and horse tails....
Are you sure it died and that it wasn’t just going dormant? I had on in a whiskey barrel and it went dormant earlier that the on in my pond. The planting videos I watched when planting mine said that they do well in loamy clay soil. They need to be in a larger diameter pot unless a dwarf variety.They do need fertilizer once they produce their first aerial leaves.they are heavy feeder I give them twice the amount of tablets I give my water lilies. I only use water from my pond so I’m not sure how much effect th e chloramphenicol will have. I have been able to get great information from Bergan water gardens website .They have videos on how to plant your lotus and they also have a Facebook page. I have had good results from the excellent customer service they provide. I hope I’m not breaking any rules mentioning them by name. They were great to deal with and very helpful. Good luck
 
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Pretty sure they were dead, I would have expected to find ~ 1 cm diameter tubers in the pots, on careful inspection there was only muck. Do other people see them go dormant in late summer?? I'll try richer soil and some sort of encapsulated fertilizer, I guess.
 
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Pretty sure they were dead, I would have expected to find ~ 1 cm diameter tubers in the pots, on careful inspection there was only muck. Do other people see them go dormant in late summer?? I'll try richer soil and some sort of encapsulated fertilizer, I guess.
It doesn’t need to be better soil in fact everything I have read said that you should avoid anything high in biological matter like peat or manure just clay and top soil. One of mine is 4 years old and the other is 2 years old.Both of mine went dormant mid to late September. I do live in Maryland (zone 7) may be different in your area. I believe you have a warmer September. I also started with tubers that I have been told are easier to grow than seedlings. I guess I haven’t really been much help.
 
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Thanks for the information about limiting the organic matter, that might be my problem. The seedlings have each set three leaves, the sort that float on the water surface. I can report any further progress if desired.
 

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