Lotus depth

[Sharon Goode]

Can I place lotus at 3 or 4 feet depth? If so what type do best at that depth? Zone 7 and still cold and snowy here. Also, anynone prefer tuber or established plants which cost 2 times the price..and who do you purchase from?

 

[sissy]

I looked on you tube and it says 6 inches below water level for best growth and have to find out from addy how deep she has hers .

 

[addy1]

My tubers are around 10 inches under water, they just have to be below the ice freezing level. I do have one shallower, it starts up a lot faster in the spring. I do not think lotus would do well that deep. I need to wait and see if the shallow one made it through this winter.

 

[sissy]

I put mine in the bottom of the stock tank and since i had fish in there and pump and aerator going it did not freeze .Well guy came to pick up my free fish for his pond .A neighbor of the guy who gave me the 2 lotus tubers and he owns a nursery so he is giving me 2 cherry trees and if i want anything else to let him know .I think I won again.I am like the Johnny appleseed of fish He took 7of the babies .Thanks addy for the info I will try lowing maybe to 10 inches

 

[addy1]

Mine are in my 300 gallon stock tank with rosey reds, a few gf. Each lotus is in one of those roped handle walmart pots. Each pot is half filled with kitty litter. So I have 5 lotus in one 300 gallon stock tank.

 

[sissy]

do you have an aerator or pump in it

 

[sissy]

I was thinking of using left over retaining wall block and a piece of liner and putting them up to the side of the pond ,this way i can fertilize them good .The pond is to deep for them now and don;t really want to use a crate to set them on top of .I figure i could insulate the inside of the retaining wall block with foam insulation for the winter .Thinking i could make it around 18 inches deep and i could lower them in the winter

 

[addy1]

do you have an aerator or pump in it

No the tank is just 2/3 buried, one third is not due to our slope. I did put wood around it and back fill with some dirt on the down slope side.
I do have water flowing through it via a garden hose that is t'd off our pump bog feed. It waterfalls back into the big pond, but not in the winter.

The lotus tub is upper left corner, you can see the shallow one is the first to grow.

 

[adavisus]

Transplanting established plants can unrealistic, you are talking about a mass of very delicate runners, roots and shoots which are difficult to access and tricky to move, unless you can find one growing intact starting in a pot of dirt which can be lifted onto a truck

There's a narrow window of opportunity in Spring to find tubers which are just starting into growth before they start to run and form new growth as long thin runners

Waters will still be bitterly cold at this point, 40's temps, when waters are warm with growing temps, the delicate runners will be romping away from the wintering tuber a couple of feet per month

Set too deep and lotus will grow like a waterlily with pads on the surface of the water, when they do put up aerial stems from such a depth any breeze or storm is likely to blow them about for lack of stability, When the heavyish blooms form more often than not they will be keeling over and going splat in the water

There may be a reason why they become expensive or hard to find, after Spring. To get a division in suitable condition to transplant may destroy umpteen other runners to find one that can be separated...

Regards, andy
http://swglist.wordpress.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

 

[sissy]

so maybe if I put 1 aerator hose in it and frogs come by they will go there first

 

[sissy]

I have 2 of these about about 10 inches long I got months ago and they are starting to grow .He has 2 huge concrete mixing tubs of lotus .He just ignores them and they grow .His was loaded with tubers they were all wrapped around in circles .The tubs he had them in were 6 ft long and 4 feet wide and they were stuffed in there

 

[mrsclem]

I started 12 from seed last year planted in 2 gal. buckets with kitty litter. By fall they all had leaves and had sent runners out into the surrounding pots. No circulation all winter so hoping they survived. The ones I have in a shallow preform on a pallet seem to be sprouting! Think I may drain some water off the top of the others as they are down over a foot.

 

[sissy]

It says that once the leaves break the surface of the water that is when you should start fertilizing .I bet this guy i got mine from has hundreds of tubers .His friend who got the babies yesterday from me is now thinking of putting a pond in front of his garden center to attract more customers .I bought from him at his stand he runs at the Eden flea market .He has some great plants