Rob-Rah Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 Does anyone grow this? How big does it get, how large a pot does it require? I feel like planting up a nice half-barrel as a new tank for Aldrovanda in my frost-free greenhouse. As well as my usual carex and typha, a Lotus would look nice in there. If I thin it once a year, would it get large enough to flower in something like a 12" waterlilly basket? I have seen it grows with Aldrovanda in Russia, but would it be ok with a nutrient-deprived water, such as I use for my Aldrovanda to reduce algae? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepenthesleep Posted August 21, 2005 Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 Hello, I don't have a plant of my own but I have some experience at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I recommend the variety 'Jade Bowl' if your pot is only 12 inches. There are some other small varieties but I don't remember the names. Plant it in a shallow pot and position in so that the runners go in a circle around the pot. They can grow pretty fast in a year so you will have to divide if the pot is small unless you get a smaller variety. They are heavy feeders though, so I don't know how it will do in low nutrient soil. If you use lilytabs, that should keep the nutrients in the soil and out of the water. Use water hyacinth and Egeria densa to suck up extra nutrients from the water. It is important to keep the water very clear because in cultivation, I have noticed fungus growing on the tubers when they float in water. If the plants are in soil, that should help prevent the tubers from rotting. Good luck and if you have any more questions, I'll try to answer them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Thanks for the feedback. From reading a bit, I think I ought to be looking for the dwarf variety 'Chawan Basu' (="Rice Bowl") - lovely flowers too. Where can I find this cultivar? 'Momo botan' looks reasonable too. Also, where can I find a completely undrained 12" to 16" pot to put it into? (to stop it spreading, and keep the nutirents in the soil as best I can) Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepenthesleep Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Hmm. I'm not sure you'll need to get one without holes. I have a water lily so what I do is put a tab about 5-6 cm below the soil surface. I would also cover the soil with gravel, it keeps the dirt in the pot. If you want to, you can cover the holes with insoluble putty or aquarium silicon. When you get the water lotus, I would put it in a small quarantine tub (If you have space). Put an expendable cp or a robust section of A. vesiculosa in that tub and see how it does. Again, I strongly recommend water hyacinth, Egeria densa, and water lettuce. I looked for the largest water garden dealers but I don't know if they are good, living in colorado. But I went to their websites and they seem reasonable, though I couldn't find any Nelumbo. http://www.thekrib.com/Organizations/water-gardens.html I am about to look for a water garden society in the uk. I work for the curator of water gardening at the Denver Botanic Gardens and he knows some people there. Oh, I'm not sure but you might have to wait til late winter/early spring to get one, I believe that's the best time to buy plants. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepenthesleep Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Okay, I found the RHS and they have some suppliers of nelumbo (or it says so). Here's the link: http://www.rhs.org.uk/RHSPlantFinder/plant...p;Genus=Nelumbo Dorset Water Lilies appears to have what you're looking for: http://www.rhs.org.uk/RHSPlantFinder/nurse...;so=pf&mo=N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Thanks so much. At present I do grow all my aquatic utrics and Aldrovanda with water hyacinth, Typha minima and Carex panicea to leach the nutrients away. Aldrovanda can cope with higher levels of nutrients than normal CPs, but they do tend to encourage algal growth. I will certainly set up the barrel well in advance of adding Aldrovanda to it. If I end up with just a pretty lotus garden I can't really complain anyway! I'll check out that nursery... Thanks. EDIT: That nursery seems to not do mail order. It is surprisingly impossible to find dealers in Lotus online for some reason who aren't in the USA. How odd. Will pop into some local water-garden suppliers and see what they have in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Update..... popped in to the local water garden and found the dwarfs'Momo botan' (pink double) and 'Baby Doll' (white single) at very good prices. Will plant up my barrel in the next few weeks. Might even do two barrels and different Aldrovanda in each (I will be getting a second strain this winter); maybe I'll do the second one with the semi-dwarf 'Chawan basu' if I can just find it somewhere.... Thanks again for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabrice Reolon Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Hello I have a nelumbo but I don't know his name. It's single cream flower. I keep it outside all the year but roots are under 70/80 cm of water. 1 meter x 50 cm are to small for the plant now ! Fabrice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles_KS Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 A bit late, but you can grow lotus from seeds - Chiltern seeds sell it, but maybe not the dwarf cultivars. I tried it and found the seeds germinated within a day or so, after cutting the seed coat with a small saw, but then the seedlings grew very elongated and died. Possibly not enough light, but the germination was very easy. Giles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted August 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Yes, I saw Chiltern's seed. I think that's a fullsize plant (=huuuuge!). As I am definitely in need of a dwarf I thought I'd steer away from all seed, as I don't how true the characteristics come from seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles_KS Posted August 28, 2005 Report Share Posted August 28, 2005 Well, mine all died very young, so size was never a problem for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Nijman Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hello, I grow Nelumbo komarovii here from the Russian Far East. I would not plant it with Aldrovanda, wich I also grow. Aldrovanda goes well with a Nymphaea, I grow it with Nymphaea helvola. To grow Nelumbo well you need a thich layer, 40 cm, of rich loam or clay and abot 10 to 20 cm of water. In the summer they apreciate some gift of rotted cowdung aded to the water. In climates like in Britain its best to grow them on a hot sunnny spot and they can flower in late July till early September. In the Lago Superior near Mantova in Italy I have seen giant Nerlumbo nucifera plants with leaves up to 90 cm and growing as deep as into 2 meters deep water. Nelumbo covers there several hectares of water! Best regards, Alexander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Nijman Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 Here some nurseries where you can buy Nelumbo. www.nymphaion.de www.seerosenfarm.de Regards, Alexander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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