"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
My thoughts, as it always scares me to think of letting anything run
wild,
eventually they would become root bound and then think of the work to
fix
that? ~ jan

I dunno. I have never done this before. What will the work be?

Last year many local ponders were invited out to a lotus pond that had
been
an experimental trial as a food crop. So they hacked and they pulled and
they just got plain muddy. In the end I don't think anyone got those
tubers
to grow, and if they did not for long, I think the tubers got hacked into
because people couldn't see what they were doing. Whereas a lotus in a pot
just has to be up ended, rinse off and you can tell tubers from runners
and
cut in the right places. At least I managed to do that and both groups are
growing and budding, and I feel I have a brown thumb with lotuses.

Moral of the story: if they get root bound, and growth becomes pathetic,
when you try to redo you may have to rebuy. Plus, a potted plant is so
much
easier to rearrange, remove, replace. ~ jan

Well put.

BV.

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
I had the same arguments when I had my lotus pond dug.
The ladies who advised were on this NG ... they just
said I would be sorry because it is so hard to uproot the
lotuses to divide them. I think that is the only drawback.
Wellll ... add that and the fact that I am getting on in years and
can't trust myself to get out of 12 inches of silty sand!
The pond guy has a Big problem getting out and he is
6' 2" .... lol Seems the sand holds onto his boots and
creates a suction errr something.
snip

Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

One of my water garden club members has several little pondlets, about 3
feet in diameter dug in his yard, lined with liner, in which he plants
lotus. They just need to be deep enough that the lotus can go low enough
not to freeze.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"BenignVanilla" m wrote in
message ...

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
I had the same arguments when I had my lotus pond dug.
The ladies who advised were on this NG ... they just
said I would be sorry because it is so hard to uproot the
lotuses to divide them. I think that is the only drawback.
Wellll ... add that and the fact that I am getting on in years and
can't trust myself to get out of 12 inches of silty sand!
The pond guy has a Big problem getting out and he is
6' 2" .... lol Seems the sand holds onto his boots and
creates a suction errr something.
snip

Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have
a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

One of my water garden club members has several little pondlets, about 3
feet in diameter dug in his yard, lined with liner, in which he plants
lotus. They just need to be deep enough that the lotus can go low enough
not to freeze.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"BenignVanilla" m wrote in
message ...

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
I had the same arguments when I had my lotus pond dug.
The ladies who advised were on this NG ... they just
said I would be sorry because it is so hard to uproot the
lotuses to divide them. I think that is the only drawback.
Wellll ... add that and the fact that I am getting on in years and
can't trust myself to get out of 12 inches of silty sand!
The pond guy has a Big problem getting out and he is
6' 2" .... lol Seems the sand holds onto his boots and
creates a suction errr something.
snip

Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have
a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

BV, It's for the aesthetics of the thing.
I was reading one
of my pond books yesterday and came upon potting
instructions for Lotus. (Helen Nash & Marilyn Cook's
"Water Gardening Basics")

NOTICE:
Put 5 or 6 aquatic tabs around the bottom of a
23 inch (diameter) round pot.
Put *5 inches* of dirt on top.
Place the *lotus tuber on top* of the dirt.
Put a *flat rock* on top of the tuber.
Fill slowly with warmish water so that
2 or 3 inches of water covers the tuber. Keep in a warm
sunny spot as the lotus establishes itself.

This says nothing about heavy pots of soil...........
The book is 2 - 3 years old and I had never ever read this.

Sorry for all those folks who have tons of dirt in pots on the
bottom of ponds

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"BenignVanilla" m wrote in
message ...

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
I had the same arguments when I had my lotus pond dug.
The ladies who advised were on this NG ... they just
said I would be sorry because it is so hard to uproot the
lotuses to divide them. I think that is the only drawback.
Wellll ... add that and the fact that I am getting on in years and
can't trust myself to get out of 12 inches of silty sand!
The pond guy has a Big problem getting out and he is
6' 2" .... lol Seems the sand holds onto his boots and
creates a suction errr something.
snip

Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have
a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

My thoughts, as it always scares me to think of letting anything run wild,
eventually they would become root bound and then think of the work to fix
that?

I thought I'd mention that our lotus/lilly pond hasn't been that
difficult so far. We have 4 lotus growing (3 of one kind that I am
not sure what kind they are.. they are growing like mad) and one Perry
Slocum that I had in a spot that got insufficient sunlight and just
move to front and center.

We have about 2-3" of 2" size gravel in the pond with a bit of clay,
dead leaves, etc. mixed in. All of the lotus and lilly's are growing
well although I do get some brown leaves from turtles eating the
leaves and probably because I need more fertilizer. But they are all
growing well.

What is most useful to say is this is with no pots and no heavy clay!

You can actually easily remove the plants (especially easy with
lillies) pretty cleanly. You just put your hand under the base where
the leaves are, follow the roots to the next root ball and lift it
out. It actually isn't hard. For more dense media (other than 2"
rocks) it's probably harder but this is working great for me.

Also... the lotus do spread fast. They shoot out these straight roots
in one direction only (at least so far) and every 2-3 feet they form
another root ball. In about 3 months one of the mystery lotus has
made 2 root balls spread out.

What I have found is, once you figure out which way it is growing, you
can "aim" the growth tip and get it to grow where you want in your
pond. I am trying to maintain both lillies on one side and lotus on
the other and I have been able to so far with very little work.

Lotus are very interesting plants I must say!

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
BV, It's for the aesthetics of the thing.
I was reading one
of my pond books yesterday and came upon potting
instructions for Lotus. (Helen Nash & Marilyn Cook's
"Water Gardening Basics")

NOTICE:
Put 5 or 6 aquatic tabs around the bottom of a
23 inch (diameter) round pot.
Put *5 inches* of dirt on top.
Place the *lotus tuber on top* of the dirt.
Put a *flat rock* on top of the tuber.
Fill slowly with warmish water so that
2 or 3 inches of water covers the tuber. Keep in a warm
sunny spot as the lotus establishes itself.

This says nothing about heavy pots of soil...........
The book is 2 - 3 years old and I had never ever read this.

Sorry for all those folks who have tons of dirt in pots on the
bottom of ponds
snip

Luckily my Huge container has only 4-5 inches of clay, so it should be
fairly easy to get out of the pond in the fall. I need to finish a few other
projects before I begin this one, so hopefully by the end of the summer, I
will have the cash, the time, and the research done to start my lotus pond.
I am really hoping to pull it off, so I can eventually use it as an upper
pond that will flow down a stream to my VF.

BV.

BV, It's for the aesthetics of the thing.
I was reading one
of my pond books yesterday and came upon potting
instructions for Lotus. (Helen Nash & Marilyn Cook's
"Water Gardening Basics")

NOTICE:
Put 5 or 6 aquatic tabs around the bottom of a
23 inch (diameter) round pot.
Put *5 inches* of dirt on top.
Place the *lotus tuber on top* of the dirt.
Put a *flat rock* on top of the tuber.
Fill slowly with warmish water so that
2 or 3 inches of water covers the tuber. Keep in a warm
sunny spot as the lotus establishes itself.

This says nothing about heavy pots of soil...........
The book is 2 - 3 years old and I had never ever read this.

Sorry for all those folks who have tons of dirt in pots on the
bottom of ponds

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"BenignVanilla" m wrote in
message ...

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
I had the same arguments when I had my lotus pond dug.
The ladies who advised were on this NG ... they just
said I would be sorry because it is so hard to uproot the
lotuses to divide them. I think that is the only drawback.
Wellll ... add that and the fact that I am getting on in years and
can't trust myself to get out of 12 inches of silty sand!
The pond guy has a Big problem getting out and he is
6' 2" .... lol Seems the sand holds onto his boots and
creates a suction errr something.
snip

Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have
a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

My thoughts, as it always scares me to think of letting anything run wild,
eventually they would become root bound and then think of the work to fix
that?

I thought I'd mention that our lotus/lilly pond hasn't been that
difficult so far. We have 4 lotus growing (3 of one kind that I am
not sure what kind they are.. they are growing like mad) and one Perry
Slocum that I had in a spot that got insufficient sunlight and just
move to front and center.

We have about 2-3" of 2" size gravel in the pond with a bit of clay,
dead leaves, etc. mixed in. All of the lotus and lilly's are growing
well although I do get some brown leaves from turtles eating the
leaves and probably because I need more fertilizer. But they are all
growing well.

What is most useful to say is this is with no pots and no heavy clay!

You can actually easily remove the plants (especially easy with
lillies) pretty cleanly. You just put your hand under the base where
the leaves are, follow the roots to the next root ball and lift it
out. It actually isn't hard. For more dense media (other than 2"
rocks) it's probably harder but this is working great for me.

Also... the lotus do spread fast. They shoot out these straight roots
in one direction only (at least so far) and every 2-3 feet they form
another root ball. In about 3 months one of the mystery lotus has
made 2 root balls spread out.

What I have found is, once you figure out which way it is growing, you
can "aim" the growth tip and get it to grow where you want in your
pond. I am trying to maintain both lillies on one side and lotus on
the other and I have been able to so far with very little work.

Lotus are very interesting plants I must say!

"Nedra" wrote in message
thlink.net...
BV, It's for the aesthetics of the thing.
I was reading one
of my pond books yesterday and came upon potting
instructions for Lotus. (Helen Nash & Marilyn Cook's
"Water Gardening Basics")

NOTICE:
Put 5 or 6 aquatic tabs around the bottom of a
23 inch (diameter) round pot.
Put *5 inches* of dirt on top.
Place the *lotus tuber on top* of the dirt.
Put a *flat rock* on top of the tuber.
Fill slowly with warmish water so that
2 or 3 inches of water covers the tuber. Keep in a warm
sunny spot as the lotus establishes itself.

This says nothing about heavy pots of soil...........
The book is 2 - 3 years old and I had never ever read this.

Sorry for all those folks who have tons of dirt in pots on the
bottom of ponds
snip

Luckily my Huge container has only 4-5 inches of clay, so it should be
fairly easy to get out of the pond in the fall. I need to finish a few other
projects before I begin this one, so hopefully by the end of the summer, I
will have the cash, the time, and the research done to start my lotus pond.
I am really hoping to pull it off, so I can eventually use it as an upper
pond that will flow down a stream to my VF.

BV.

Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

I've tried them in pots out of the pond and in my area the containers get
too warm and the plants have done poorly. I think digging them into the
ground would keep the water cooler. My pots are only in the 18-20" diameter
range and obviously my lotuses are doing fine (in the pond on shelf). ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why have a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.


I've tried them in pots out of the pond and in my area the containers get
too warm and the plants have done poorly. I think digging them into the
ground would keep the water cooler. My pots are only in the 18-20" diameter
range and obviously my lotuses are doing fine (in the pond on shelf). ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

I'm intrigued by the thought of getting a lotus and putting
it in the ground in a mini pond. What depth would I need to
overwinter here in NJ, zone 6, sunset zone 34?

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

Strange you should ask Bonnie. Water Gardening magazine
came yesterday and Greg Speichert has been pushing folks
to put in lotus bogs. Here's how that works. Dig a hole
about 3 feet in diameter. About 2 feet deep...
Line the hole with EPDM and place the pot of lotus
tuber in the pot. All you have to look out for is not freezing
the tuber. Most people put the lotuses in too deep... all that
is needed is 4 or 5 inches of water over the crown.
BTW, lotuses are hardy to zone 3 !
The article in this months Water Gardening is on Lotus in
general ... you'll have to look for the article on lotus bogs in
an earlier issue ;-)

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Bonnie Espenshade" wrote in message
...
~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why
have a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use
smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.


I've tried them in pots out of the pond and in my area the containers
get
too warm and the plants have done poorly. I think digging them into the
ground would keep the water cooler. My pots are only in the 18-20"
diameter
range and obviously my lotuses are doing fine (in the pond on shelf). ~
jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

I'm intrigued by the thought of getting a lotus and putting
it in the ground in a mini pond. What depth would I need to
overwinter here in NJ, zone 6, sunset zone 34?

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why
have a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

I've tried them in pots out of the pond and in my area the containers get
too warm and the plants have done poorly. I think digging them into the
ground would keep the water cooler. My pots are only in the 18-20"
diameter
range and obviously my lotuses are doing fine (in the pond on shelf). ~
jan

How deep are your pots? Since I have permission to do another pond just for
the lotus, I'd like to densely pack one and then use it as feeder for a
stream down the road. Could I use shallow, but wide potts and sit them in
the pond?

BV.

Shallow but wide pots are ideal for lotus, BV.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"BenignVanilla" m wrote in
message ...
"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
Ok, I am convinced. They should be potted. Now my next question...why
have a
lotus pond, with pots in it. Why not just have a punch of lotus pots
and
keep the water in the pots? Maybe I am confused. Someone told me to use
large (like 30 gallon) pots, so I don't get the pond. Could I use
smaller
pots submerged in the pond?

BV.

I've tried them in pots out of the pond and in my area the containers
get
too warm and the plants have done poorly. I think digging them into the
ground would keep the water cooler. My pots are only in the 18-20"
diameter
range and obviously my lotuses are doing fine (in the pond on shelf). ~
jan

How deep are your pots? Since I have permission to do another pond just
for
the lotus, I'd like to densely pack one and then use it as feeder for a
stream down the road. Could I use shallow, but wide potts and sit them in
the pond?

BV.