Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Lotus Chronicles

Beautiful flower RAH.

Jut throwing this out there, but I get a few annual hot spots popping up from seed heads that drop and reseed lotus around the pond. To prevent that, I keep a cheap pair of scissors on my UTV, and cut off and remove the seed heads off once the pedals drop.

Is your lotus a named variety or the native type?

Not the lotus here, just regular American Lotus. All my lilies are named, and transplanted according to their spread.

Is your lotus a hybrid? I'm not sure how yours would self spread, if at all, but the seed pods sure look familiar.

I would guess that mine is a hybrid that is propagated by rhizome division (rather than a true variety that breeds true). It also seems reasonable that native American lotus would spread more readily by seed than a cultivated variety or hybrid, but I am just guessing. If I get some clumps with inferior flowers due to seeds germinating, I could maybe treat with glyphosate.

Good plan, so please keep us in the loop next year after your plants mature a little more.

Thanks! Sent him an email last night.

I would Love to gtow lotus but I'm in zone 4a so not sure if I'd be able to over winter them in a pond. But hearing so of you talk about them growing in 4-8feet of witer gives me hope. As long as I can keep them from freezing I think they will survive. Anyone growing them in northern areas like northern Minnesota or Wisconsin?

Appear to grow in Ontario. Too early here in Indiana, and snowing...

I've heard that they grow there but they have zone 5 and I think 6 in the far southeastern portion so I'm not sure if they grow in zone 4a Ontario

Some varieties claim to be tolerant to USDA zone 4, but they do not specify what subzone that I could see.

Be very careful about planting Lotus in an earth bottom pond. Their flowers are big and showy but they can very easily become rampant and require aggressive control measures especially in all water less than 8 ft deep. Lotus have varying degrees of spread depending on the variety. If they produce fertile seeds be extra cautious.

Bill is certainly correct, and I planted mine knowing this risk. Even in a new clay-bottom pond with low fertility, my lotus has spread some and finally bloomed the 3rd year. In a more fertile pond, it would no doubt be very aggressive. I may still regret it some day, but the plant life is progressing very slowly. Have only introduced FHM and lake chubsucker so far in my lotus pond. Would probably add some blue cats if I could find a source. This is my 3rd pond and so I am experimenting.

Once my 4th pond is done filling, I am considering planting "Yellow Bird lotus". My magenta "The President" lotus is struggling and only spreading very slowly in my 3rd pond after 4 years due to the clay pond bottom, and my 4th pond also has a clay bottom. The large yellow blooms should be attractive and it appears that one of the parents of this hybrid is our native American lotus.

https://pondmegastore.com/products/yellow-bird-lotus