lotus
 

any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.

"z" wrote in message
...
any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.

Could you be more specific, do you mean Lotus hirsutus? which is a sort of
silvery leafed sub shrub or the stuff that grows in the Nile like a water
lily!

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

On 7/3/05 0:56, in article , "z"
wrote:

any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.


If you mean the kind used in tubs and hanging baskets (Lotus berthelotii)
most nurseries and garden centres should either have them now or be getting
them in any day. But it's not reliably hardy, even down here.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl...elotii&spell=1
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Charlie Pridham wrote:
"z" wrote in message
...
any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.

Could you be more specific, do you mean Lotus hirsutus? which is a
sort of silvery leafed sub shrub or the stuff that grows in the
Nile
like a water lily!

No, the Nile menace is Water hyacinth from S America...Eichornia
something?? Very pretty, but a disaster. I don't think the water-lily
lotus is anything l;ike hardy, either.

Mike.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Charlie Pridham wrote:
"z" wrote in message
...
any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.

Could you be more specific, do you mean Lotus hirsutus? which is a
sort of silvery leafed sub shrub or the stuff that grows in the
Nile
like a water lily!

No, the Nile menace is Water hyacinth from S America...Eichornia
something?? Very pretty, but a disaster. I don't think the water-lily
lotus is anything l;ike hardy, either.

Mike.

The Lotus is found in the Nile (among other places) and is thought to be the
source of the expression "cast your bread upon the water ... etc" As the
ancient Egyptians apparently ground the seeds for a kind of flour, and used
to plant the stuff deliberately. And yes I know its not hardy, I was just
gently trying to point out that with vague naming you get rather strange
advice! :~)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article , Mike Lyle mike_lyle_uk@REM
OVETHISyahoo.co.uk writes
Charlie Pridham wrote:
"z" wrote in message
...
any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.

Could you be more specific, do you mean Lotus hirsutus? which is a
sort of silvery leafed sub shrub or the stuff that grows in the
Nile
like a water lily!

No, the Nile menace is Water hyacinth from S America...Eichornia
something?? Very pretty, but a disaster. I don't think the water-lily
lotus is anything l;ike hardy, either.

The "blue lotus" Nymphaea caerulea grows in the Nile too ;-)
The true lotus is Nelumbo and I think from India.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Kay wrote:
In article , Mike Lyle
mike_lyle_uk@REM OVETHISyahoo.co.uk writes
Charlie Pridham wrote:
"z" wrote in message
...
any idea where I can purchase a hardy lotus (indoor/outdoor)
plant? TIA.

Could you be more specific, do you mean Lotus hirsutus? which is
a
sort of silvery leafed sub shrub or the stuff that grows in the
Nile
like a water lily!

No, the Nile menace is Water hyacinth from S America...Eichornia
something?? Very pretty, but a disaster. I don't think the
water-lily
lotus is anything l;ike hardy, either.

The "blue lotus" Nymphaea caerulea grows in the Nile too ;-)
The true lotus is Nelumbo and I think from India.

Thanks both: I must brush up on my tomb-paintings! Not at all sure
why I associated the pest water hyacinth with Charlie's mention of
water-lilies.

Mike.

"Charlie Pridham" wrote:

And yes I know its not hardy, I was just
gently trying to point out that with vague naming you get rather strange
advice! :~)

I just looked in a catalog: Nelumbo Nucifera 'speciosa' is the generic one
offered by a U.S. aquatic nursery; they also have a bunch of named
selections and hybrids. These are quite hardy; I grow them in a bushel
plastic tub a couple of feet deep in an earth pond, and they winter just
fine, even though the ice gets a foot or more thick in a northeastern U.S.
winter. They're easy to grow but hard to transplant- the roots are divided
in late winter before growth begins, and any damage to the buds will kill
them.

I haven't had enough seeds to make flour, but that might be an interesting
dimension to the sourdough I occasionally bake!


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

"Gary Woods" wrote after..
"Charlie Pridham" wrote:

And yes I know its not hardy, I was just
gently trying to point out that with vague naming you get rather strange
advice! :~)

I just looked in a catalog: Nelumbo Nucifera 'speciosa' is the generic
one
offered by a U.S. aquatic nursery; they also have a bunch of named
selections and hybrids. These are quite hardy; I grow them in a bushel
plastic tub a couple of feet deep in an earth pond, and they winter just
fine, even though the ice gets a foot or more thick in a northeastern U.S.
winter. They're easy to grow but hard to transplant- the roots are
divided
in late winter before growth begins, and any damage to the buds will kill
them.

I haven't had enough seeds to make flour, but that might be an interesting
dimension to the sourdough I occasionally bake!

We are always told they are very much non-hardy here but if you can grow
them with your hard winters we should be able to. I've only ever seen them
in places like India, Egypt, Shri Lanka etc and wonder if yours and the ones
sold over there originated in a cold part of the tropics, perhaps up in the
mountains somewhere perhaps, i.e. it's a variety that has developed
hardiness.
Now, please name a nursery over your side that would send me one for my
pond. Please......... :-)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

Bob Hobden wrote:

"Gary Woods" wrote after..
"Charlie Pridham" wrote:

And yes I know its not hardy, I was just
gently trying to point out that with vague naming you get rather strange
advice! :~)

I just looked in a catalog: Nelumbo Nucifera 'speciosa' is the generic
one
offered by a U.S. aquatic nursery; they also have a bunch of named
selections and hybrids. These are quite hardy; I grow them in a bushel
plastic tub a couple of feet deep in an earth pond, and they winter just
fine, even though the ice gets a foot or more thick in a northeastern U.S.
winter. They're easy to grow but hard to transplant- the roots are
divided
in late winter before growth begins, and any damage to the buds will kill
them.

I haven't had enough seeds to make flour, but that might be an interesting
dimension to the sourdough I occasionally bake!

We are always told they are very much non-hardy here but if you can grow
them with your hard winters we should be able to. I've only ever seen them
in places like India, Egypt, Shri Lanka etc and wonder if yours and the ones
sold over there originated in a cold part of the tropics, perhaps up in the
mountains somewhere perhaps, i.e. it's a variety that has developed
hardiness.
Now, please name a nursery over your side that would send me one for my
pond. Please......... :-)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

Say, Gary... I can hardly believe that Nelumbo nucifera (any cultivar) is hardy
where you are.
But then, New York is about the same latitude as Rome, so even with your cold
winters, the plant (if deep enough to be protected from frost) would get enough
heat in summer. Perhaps that makes the difference. It certainly wouldn't survive
over here, nor in the UK.
Still... you're certain that your plant is not (for example) Nelumbo lutea (the
American lotus)?
Or, if it should be a hybrid... do you know which one?
Regards
Roger, in Flanders (Belgium), Z 7b.

--
There's more than money to be looked for in this short life of ours

Roger Van Loon wrote:

Still... you're certain that your plant is not (for example) Nelumbo lutea (the
American lotus)?
Or, if it should be a hybrid... do you know which one?

I'm certain of nothing, since the plant I have was a replacement for a
poor-quality root (no growing "points" at all), and the nursery has been
unable to come up with a name.

They do list all their lotus as Nelumbo Nucifera in the catalog. And yes,
summers have many days in the 80sF, despite winter lows well below zero.
I'm not at all sure of the genealogy beyond that, though I know
nomenclature doesn't always "travel" well. Some innocents think we and the
Brits speak the same language, for instance.

FWIW, pictures at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~garygarli...pond/index.htm

I have more hardy water lilies, which are much easier... grown in 3-gallon
plastic pails, they can be divided every year and must be divided after 2
or 3 years.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Thanks for the pictures.
I'm no botanist, but I think true Nelumbo nucifera should be more pinkish:
http://images.google.be/images?q=nel...&start=20&sa=N
I'm still thinking of a hybrid with Nelumbo lutea blood, but now I'm just guessing.
Anuhow, I can't help being jealous of your plant.
Regards
Roger.

Gary Woods wrote:

Roger Van Loon wrote:

Still... you're certain that your plant is not (for example) Nelumbo lutea (the
American lotus)?
Or, if it should be a hybrid... do you know which one?

I'm certain of nothing, since the plant I have was a replacement for a
poor-quality root (no growing "points" at all), and the nursery has been
unable to come up with a name.

They do list all their lotus as Nelumbo Nucifera in the catalog. And yes,
summers have many days in the 80sF, despite winter lows well below zero.
I'm not at all sure of the genealogy beyond that, though I know
nomenclature doesn't always "travel" well. Some innocents think we and the
Brits speak the same language, for instance.

FWIW, pictures at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~garygarli...pond/index.htm

I have more hardy water lilies, which are much easier... grown in 3-gallon
plastic pails, they can be divided every year and must be divided after 2
or 3 years.

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

--
There's more than money to be looked for in this short life of ours

Gary Woods wrote:

Still... you're certain that your plant is not (for example) Nelumbo lutea (the
American lotus?
Or, if it should be a hybrid... do you know which one?

I'm certain of nothing, since the plant I have was a replacement for a
poor-quality root (no growing "points" at all), and the nursery has been
unable to come up with a name.

I'm certain that the plant in the pic is Nelumbo lutea - the native
American Lotus lily. Occurring naturally as far north and west as
Iowa, it is somewhat more tolerant of winter cold than the Asian N.
nucifera, but still needs to remain unfrozen when dormant. It also
needs a fair amount of summer heat over a long period to persuade it
to do its stuff.

There are one or two growers of the nucifera hybrids in the UK who
manage to flower them out of doors in large tubs. The tubers are
overwintered indoors by draining the tubs so they rest cool but frost
free in wet soil. They are then started off in heat and moved outside
in early summer. Full sun, a warm sheltered spot and a large black
container to absorb the heat seems to be the order of the day.

I grew a few from seed some years ago - they are satisfyingly fast
growing, but need plenty of summer warmth as youngsters.
Unfortunately, I misjudged the amount of heat need early on in the
year and the young rhizomes suffered as a result. Continued cool
spring weather caused more problems and eventually they dwindled away.
I occasionally think about trying them again, but to be honest I don't
have the room to disguise large black tubs in my tiny patch.

Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November