Lotus

[prairiegarden]

Has anyone grown lotus? Lotus root showed up in the store the other day so brought two home and stick them in some mud and they appear to be growing, so will have to move them as that pot won't hold water as it was supposed to. It will be ages before it's even remotely warm enough to plant outside.

The plan was  to eventually put them in a half barrel. I understand they are unlikely to have  the spectacular  flower that the ornamental has..but will the wind getting into it be enough to keep it oxygenated or do I have to change the water once a week or somesuch? And can they coexist with fish, needed to keep mosquito populations  down? How else can  mosquitoes be prevented  from 
breeding in the water?v 

[philagardener]

You can buy floating BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) "Dunks" for ponds that will keep mosquitoes under control - very effective in non-flowing systems (as it doesn't wash out). Harmless to fish, chemical free.

[rowan]

I have been growing a lotus in a bath tub the past couple of years and it is doing well, but my winter temps only go down to -3 (C) in a frost.

[prairiegarden]

ok thank you that will simplify things a LOT, I've never had much to do with ponds except watering animals so this is all new territory. I've also been wondering how to do watercress, which apparently normally grows in or by moving water, so may try to see if there is some way to get them to share.. and change the water once a week, though the little I read about lotus seems to suggest they grow to fill whatever space is available, sharing isn't a strong point for them.

[reed]

Lotus is apparently hardy enough for southern IN, as cold as -15 F sometimes. I have never grown it but a small start up nursery planted some in probably an acre sized farm pond on their property. It rapidly completely filled the whole pond and was beautiful but they ended up spraying to get rid of it. They were only in business a few years and the place is abandoned now and the lotus has recovered. Every time I go by I think I should stop and swipe some for my little garden pond but it appears to me to like deeper water, certainly more so than water lilies.

[philagardener]

Yes, it has a well-deserved reputation as a pretty unstoppable invasive, so that should be kept in mind!

[blueadzuki]

It probably doesn't help much that, so long as they stay moist, the seeds can lay dormant but viable pretty much FOREVER (they've managed to germinate ones that carbon dated to at least 4,000 years old) So if it does go to seed, I'm not sure if anything short of draining the pond and mucking it out to the bedrock could ensure it was gone for good.

Of course, the roots ARE edible, as are the seeds and pretty much all of the rest of the plant so one could theoretically eat it into submission.

[rowan]

I would eat it into submission - I love lotus root

[castanea]

Mar 5, 2016 16:08:38 GMT -5 prairiegarden said:

Has anyone grown lotus? Lotus root showed up in the store the other day so brought two home and stick them in some mud and they appear to be growing, so will have to move them as that pot won't hold water as it was supposed to. It will be ages before it's even remotely warm enough to plant outside.

The plan was  to eventually put them in a half barrel. I understand they are unlikely to have  the spectacular  flower that the ornamental has..but will the wind getting into it be enough to keep it oxygenated or do I have to change the water once a week or some such? And can they coexist with fish, needed to keep mosquito populations  down? How else can  mosquitoes be prevented  from 
breeding in the water?v 

If you bought it from a store it could be a tropical variety that is not cold hardy.

[rowan]

The tropical ones are a lot more cold hardy that many people think. Mine is tropical.

[mskrieger]

The US National Water Gardens, which have gorgeous lotus plantings, are located along the Anacostia River in Washington, DC, which does theoretically get down to -15F on occasion. The lotuses are grown in huge ponds that are periodically flooded by the river. It's gorgeous, and empty of people-- almost no one ever goes there. The rangers and gardeners who care for the lotuses could probably give you details about how they care for them. I'm pretty sure they leave them outdoors year round, it would be impossible to dig and store that many lotuses (the ponds are quite extensive...acres of them.)
www.nps.gov/keaq/index.htm
Also, they have a short page on why mosquitoes aren't a problem in the park: www.nps.gov/keaq/learn/nature/insects.htm Basically it sounds like they encourage conditions for dragon fly and frogs.

[castanea]

There are different species of lotus and many different varieties within those species. Some varieties can handle -20F. Other varieties will decline or die at +50F. The varieties found most often in grocery stores are tropical varieties grown in SE Asia.

[steve1]

I was looking at one today.It gets a few handfuls of chicken manure pellets once or twice a year and grows in a tub maybe a meter in diameter. No changing of water and yesterday it hit 104 f or 40c and looks great today in flower. Will try and post a pic tomorrow.

[reed]

How big or small of a container can they grow in? I never got any of the ones growing in that pond partly because they are so big. I don't know how deep it is but has to be several feet and they stand up maybe two or three feet above the surface. They don't look suited to my little garden pond. I suppose though that there are lots of kinds.

Does anyone know of any varieties that are smaller but still winter hardy?

[prairiegarden]

Apparently there is a lotus ( Nymphaea Odorata ) which grows across North America including Saskatchewan so it has to be pretty tough. None of the information I found said anything about how deep the water had to be or if the roots had to stay unfrozen or not, or indeed how big the plants got. Apparently the variety is also edible.

I'm not really expecting anything from these, was just curious to see if they would grow and if so what sort of plant they would be. They're going to have to manage in cramped quarters..one site I found about lotus said basically that like "stuff", they will grow to fill whatever space is available.