Hello,

My wife was clearing out a drawer the other day, and she came across a
package containing some lotus seeds that I was given by someone I met
about 15 years ago. I put them away, intending to find out how to grow
them one day and never did ;-)

Anyway, so I have two basic questions...

1) Will 15 year-old seeds be any good? I've looked at quite a few sites
about growing these plants and it seems that they will last a long time,
but I haven't seen any real numbers. This isn't such a huge question as
I can simply try them and see if anything happens. If not, I've only
lost a bit of water ;-)

2) More to the point, I live in the sun-drenched tropics of North West
England (ahem). Most of the sites I've seen explaining how to grow lotus
seem to be from people living in warm climates. It's very cold and wet
here at the moment, and I don't have a pond anyway!! Can these plants be
grown successfully indoors, and if so, do I need anything special for
them? One site I saw said they need long periods of intense light, which
doesn't sound like England in the winter!! Even in the summer we don't
get intense sunlight, in fact we count ourselves lucky if we get *any*
sunlight!!

So, can I grow them? TIA for any help

--
Alan Silver
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)

Looks like you can. Quick Google search reveals;

Centuries-old lotus seeds germinated by UCLA scientists
UCLA scientists germinated lotus seeds nearly 500 years old from lotus
fruits recovered
from a lotus lake in China - the first time new plants have been ...
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ 2002-02/uoc--cls022102.php - 8k -
Cached - Similar pages

Centuries-old lotus seeds germinated by UCLA scientists
.... An international team led by UCLA scientists germinated lotus seeds
nearly 500 years
old from lotus fruits recovered from an ancient lotus lake in
northeastern ...
www.scienceblog.com/community/ older/2002/C/20025556.html - 8k - Cached
- Similar pages

Found a faq regarding sunlight
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: How much sunlight does a lotus need to bloom?
A:
A lotus will flower in six hours or more direct sunlight. More sunlight
means more flowering and stronger stems for leaves and flowers. Lower
sunlight duration makes stems weak, allowing leaves to fall over
easily. Flowering is dependent upon adequate fertilization.

So it looks like you can get the seeds to sprout and it will be an
experiment to see if they will bloom in England's summer.
Let us know what happens!

kathy

Alan Silver wrote:

1) Will 15 year-old seeds be any good? I've looked at quite a few sites
about growing these plants and it seems that they will last a long time,
but I haven't seen any real numbers. This isn't such a huge question as
I can simply try them and see if anything happens. If not, I've only
lost a bit of water ;-)

Millenia? LOL. 15 years isn't enough for them to even be considered
suspect!

2) More to the point, I live in the sun-drenched tropics of North West
England (ahem).

Lovely place that. Lived a few years in Whitehaven. I don't remember there
being any sun...

Most of the sites I've seen explaining how to grow lotus
seem to be from people living in warm climates. It's very cold and wet
here at the moment, and I don't have a pond anyway!! Can these plants be
grown successfully indoors, and if so, do I need anything special for
them? One site I saw said they need long periods of intense light, which
doesn't sound like England in the winter!! Even in the summer we don't
get intense sunlight, in fact we count ourselves lucky if we get *any*
sunlight!!

They definitely won't grow in England in the winter. They're not tropicals,
though, and they grew in _my_ climate in Ontario, Canada - outside year
round - so you can definitely raise them. Indoors? Probably not. You
need at least a half-barrel outside.
--
derek

On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 13:17:32 -0400, Derek Broughton wrote:

1) Will 15 year-old seeds be any good?

They definitely won't grow in England in the winter. They're not tropicals,
though, and they grew in _my_ climate in Ontario, Canada - outside year
round - so you can definitely raise them. Indoors? Probably not. You
need at least a half-barrel outside.

But..... she could get them started inside to transfer them out come
spring. ) I've found the black plastic drip pans for oil, excellent and
reasonably pricee to start lotus tubers in, why not seeds? ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

Looks like you can. Quick Google search reveals;

g looks like 15 years isn't so old then ;-)

Thanks

Centuries-old lotus seeds germinated by UCLA scientists
UCLA scientists germinated lotus seeds nearly 500 years old from lotus
fruits recovered
from a lotus lake in China - the first time new plants have been ...
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ 2002-02/uoc--cls022102.php - 8k -
Cached - Similar pages

Centuries-old lotus seeds germinated by UCLA scientists
... An international team led by UCLA scientists germinated lotus seeds
nearly 500 years
old from lotus fruits recovered from an ancient lotus lake in
northeastern ...
www.scienceblog.com/community/ older/2002/C/20025556.html - 8k - Cached
- Similar pages


--
Alan Silver
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)

Found a faq regarding sunlight

Thanks for that. Trouble is that we get a lot of rain, so even if we had
the sunshine (which isn't certain), I would be nervous about leaving the
plant outside as it could get battered by the rain.

Oh well, one way to try it I suppose ;-)

Do you know if it has to be direct (presumably meaning without any
intervening substances) sunlight, or would it like sunshine through a
window? We have a sunny (depending on the weather) kitchen windowsill
that might be fine. We have a loquat growing there which is doing quite
well.

Q: How much sunlight does a lotus need to bloom?
A:
A lotus will flower in six hours or more direct sunlight. More sunlight
means more flowering and stronger stems for leaves and flowers. Lower
sunlight duration makes stems weak, allowing leaves to fall over
easily. Flowering is dependent upon adequate fertilization.

So it looks like you can get the seeds to sprout and it will be an
experiment to see if they will bloom in England's summer.
Let us know what happens!

kathy


--
Alan Silver
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)

Alan Silver wrote:

1) Will 15 year-old seeds be any good? I've looked at quite a few sites
about growing these plants and it seems that they will last a long time,
but I haven't seen any real numbers. This isn't such a huge question as
I can simply try them and see if anything happens. If not, I've only
lost a bit of water ;-)

Millenia? LOL. 15 years isn't enough for them to even be considered
suspect!

g So I see from the other posts!!

2) More to the point, I live in the sun-drenched tropics of North West
England (ahem).

Lovely place that. Lived a few years in Whitehaven. I don't remember there
being any sun...

We're not quite as far north or west as Whitehaven, so we get a little
more sun ... but not much !!

Most of the sites I've seen explaining how to grow lotus
seem to be from people living in warm climates. It's very cold and wet
here at the moment, and I don't have a pond anyway!! Can these plants be
grown successfully indoors, and if so, do I need anything special for
them? One site I saw said they need long periods of intense light, which
doesn't sound like England in the winter!! Even in the summer we don't
get intense sunlight, in fact we count ourselves lucky if we get *any*
sunlight!!

They definitely won't grow in England in the winter. They're not tropicals,
though, and they grew in _my_ climate in Ontario, Canada - outside year
round - so you can definitely raise them. Indoors? Probably not. You
need at least a half-barrel outside.

Hmm, could be a problem there. We don't really have anywhere to put them
inside in the winter. Apart from the basic lack of space, they would get
bashed or eaten by the children!!

I might try starting one off indoors, taking it out over the summer (if
we get one) and seeing what happens by next winter. If I have anything
worth saving, I'll think again.

Thanks

--
Alan Silver
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)

Do you know if it has to be direct (presumably meaning without any
intervening substances) sunlight, or would it like sunshine through a
window? We have a sunny (depending on the weather) kitchen windowsill
that might be fine. We have a loquat growing there which is doing quite
well.

Hi Alan - I've never heard of anyone growing a Lotus indoors, but I know a
windowsill wouldn't work - they get too large, unless there is some really
small dwarf species I haven't heard about - mine gets 3' - 4' high and has a
crown 3 to 4 feet across with aerial leaves the size of large dinner plates
& platters and is planted in a 18" by 12" pot that sits inside a large
plastic 20 gal tub on my deck
Gale :~)

Do you know if it has to be direct (presumably meaning without any
intervening substances) sunlight, or would it like sunshine through a
window? We have a sunny (depending on the weather) kitchen windowsill
that might be fine. We have a loquat growing there which is doing quite
well.

Hi Alan - I've never heard of anyone growing a Lotus indoors, but I know a
windowsill wouldn't work - they get too large, unless there is some really
small dwarf species I haven't heard about - mine gets 3' - 4' high and has a
crown 3 to 4 feet across with aerial leaves the size of large dinner plates
& platters and is planted in a 18" by 12" pot that sits inside a large
plastic 20 gal tub on my deck

Well that counts that out!! Thanks for the warning. I'm not sure this is
practical then. You couldn't keep something like that outdoors in the
UK, not even in the sunny South g and I don't have space for it
indoors. We used to have a massive swiss cheese plant, but that
eventually had to go when it got bashed once too many times by the
children whizzing around on toy trucks !!

Maybe I'll try growing it indoors until it gets too big. Then I'll look
for a home for it. Thanks again

--
Alan Silver
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)

Alan Silver wrote:

They definitely won't grow in England in the winter. They're not
tropicals, though, and they grew in _my_ climate in Ontario, Canada -
outside year
round - so you can definitely raise them. Indoors? Probably not. You
need at least a half-barrel outside.

Hmm, could be a problem there. We don't really have anywhere to put them
inside in the winter. Apart from the basic lack of space, they would get
bashed or eaten by the children!!

Eaten is fine. All parts of the lotus are edible :-)

You shouldn't really need to bring them indoors - they'll die back, but
they'll come back in spring as long as they don't freeze solid. If you do
need to bring them in, you can dig them up, wash them off, and store
bareroot. I expect K30 has a source to describe how to do that - I
haven't tried keeping lotuses bareroot, but I have successfully kept hardy
lilies that way, and I think it's the same deal.
--
derek

Alan Silver wrote:

Found a faq regarding sunlight

Thanks for that. Trouble is that we get a lot of rain, so even if we had
the sunshine (which isn't certain), I would be nervous about leaving the
plant outside as it could get battered by the rain.

No, you get a _lot_ of rain, but you don't get the kind of massive
thunderstorms that we get inland in N. America (or I guess in monsoon
season in S. Asia). Lotuses handle that sort of weather with aplomb - and
don't even need the sun except to flower. Of course, what do you want with
a non-flowering lotus :-)

You'll have no trouble at all getting it to grow, it's the flowering that
will be touchy.
--
derek

"Alan Silver" wrote in message
...
Hello,

My wife was clearing out a drawer the other day, and she came across a
package containing some lotus seeds that I was given by someone I met
about 15 years ago. I put them away, intending to find out how to grow
them one day and never did ;-)

Anyway, so I have two basic questions...

1) Will 15 year-old seeds be any good? I've looked at quite a few sites
about growing these plants and it seems that they will last a long time,
but I haven't seen any real numbers. This isn't such a huge question as
I can simply try them and see if anything happens. If not, I've only
lost a bit of water ;-)
snip

I say scarify them, and soak them. You'll know if they are any good in just
a few days.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com/Plants/Emergent/Lotus/
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...


Do you know if it has to be direct (presumably meaning without any
intervening substances) sunlight, or would it like sunshine through a
window? We have a sunny (depending on the weather) kitchen windowsill
that might be fine. We have a loquat growing there which is doing quite
well.

Hi Alan - I've never heard of anyone growing a Lotus indoors, but I know a
windowsill wouldn't work - they get too large, unless there is some really
small dwarf species I haven't heard about - mine gets 3' - 4' high and has
a
crown 3 to 4 feet across with aerial leaves the size of large dinner
plates
& platters and is planted in a 18" by 12" pot that sits inside a large
plastic 20 gal tub on my deck

There are smaller varieties that don't get much bigger then a foot or two. I
am actually working 10 sprouts now. The kitchen counter is our lotus farm
right now.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

Benign Vanilla wrote:

I say scarify them, and soak them. You'll know if they are any good in
just a few days.

Careful now, I think we might have already scarified Alan off :-)
--
derek