Against good advice, I added a lotus to the new pond this spring (planted in cage). Thought that I would start a thread to document my folly:) Picture from July 3-13 2018. Will try to add more over time as it spreads.

I love Lotus, I wish our pond didn't have such a large water level swing in the summer months.

Are you warm enough for lotus? I think they go as cold as zone 4.

These are the ones and local supplier here in Ontario. They are so nice.

I have seen folks build a water flower bed with these right next to the house. Their roof gutters flow into the bed to keep it topped up. Basically a 2X8 wooden frame with rubber matting making up the water bed. Couple feeder gold fish to keep the mosquito's down and your off.

Hope that you eventually get to have and enjoy some.

August lotus pic update

Had my first lotus flower 3 years after planting (3 days ago). Sorry no pic, but it was very nice. Plant keeps trying to spread but it is in a clay bottom and continues to struggle. Had one bud last year but it was clipped by a turtle before it opened. They clip leaves as well. The lotus found a brush pile and that is where it bloomed. Turtles seem to stay out of there. Emergent plants are also developing very slowly in the clay.

Bloom was worth the 3-year wait. 7 buds+blooms right now.

Very cool!

How deep are they growing to? I just relocated a lily-like plant to my pond (currently in a hanging basket) and I'm not so sure it's not a lotus of some sort (or lily IDK). The flowers on the plants from the donor pond were yellow. To my new-to-lily-like plant eyes...they look pretty much the same.

Lotus have a completely round leaf with no slit in the leaf. Lilies including spatterdock have a slit in one part of the the leaf.

Another bloom:

Love the color.

What would you estimate to be the increase in mass (weight) of the plants over summer ?

No idea on biomass increase but the bottom of the pond is pure clay, so the lotus has struggled as indicated by it taking 3 years to bloom. I suspect it will eventually spread all around the pond edge since lotus are aggressive, but not sure how deep it will go (currently up to 4' deep). The emergent plants are also struggling but the nutrients will eventually increase over time. Being my 3rd pond, I am using it to try out new things. My 2nd pond is a YP/SMB pond and I actually contacted a fisheries guy at Purdue University to come check it out because their literature still seems to recommend against SMB in ponds. He said we may have special conditions which allow the SMB to grow well and spawn, and originally said he would come out with students this Spring/Summer to take readings, but this has been a special year so far... Just trying to spread the message from Pond Boss pros that SMB are fine in ponds with the right species mix. My neighbor is pumped about catching big SMB!

Turns out I've joined the lotus club... Round leaves... Thanks Bill!

Turns out I've joined the lotus club... Round leaves no slits... Thanks Bill!

With a yellow bloom it could be American lotus which is native to North America.

If your water is clear expect the lotus to grow into 8ft of water. Lets see in the future after 5-7 yrs how far I am wrong.

Bill - No doubt that you are right.

No photoshopping here. This is really what it looks like:

Man that is gorgeous. The colors are so brilliant that it almost doesn't look real.
You have me wanting to plant some.

I tried this since its my 3rd pond so I wanted to experiment. Saw a muskrat last night so that might slow down the spread. Hardly any marginal plants right now which gives it few food choices. Fish will also be experimental with plans to have blue cats as the apex predator with black crappie as forage. This variety of lotus is called "The President".

Those are pretty cool flowers! I would do everything in my power to make it so you see no more muskrats!!

Muskrats are a continual part of the game. Need to get fur prices higher!

RAH, If you can, PM me the information on the Purdue guy. I have a SMB pond he could look at up here.

esshup - I sent the info via PM

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