Does anyone recall the distance Sean used between the dixie cups?

[greenthumbnails]

I cannot seem to find the thread from a while back where Sean told us the distance he used between his tropicals in dixie cups.  Went to his web site but could not find it there either. There use to be a page that showed his tropical bonsai technique with a clear dixie cup, but I could not find it on the new website. 

Asking because I think I may have some of my pots too close together. 

[magoo]

Go to the tutorials section at the bottom of the home page. If the info in not in the Dixie cup article, clicking on Sean in the author field will take you to his personal page. There is a link there for Seans's Ponds web page.

[Mike S.]

I *think* Sean re-did his web site and the address may be different if you bookmarked it a while back. Just to be sure, try this:
http://www.seanmstevens.com/seansponds/

One this one, I did not see his "Growing Waterlilies in Dixie Cups" article. However, it does still exist intact, thru several portals, the most direct being http://www.victoria-adventure.org/waterlilies_images/dixie_cup_culture/dixie_cup.html

In the article he does say that he's planting them in 7oz Dixie Cups, but the picture shows a cup that looks somewhat larger, maybe around 12 oz's or so. I have used 8 oz. plastic cups in the past for starting new waterlilies, but not for what he's doing in the article. He does state that he places them in the pond, about a foot apart, and then goes on to explain the "Bonsai" approach to growing them out.

I'm currently experimenting with using somewhat larger 18 oz cups, myself. Very inexpensive from WalMart, but for plant production, they may turn out to be too big. Time will tell. Also, I want to try something for hardy production, using about a 1 quart "disposable" food storage bowl, on the theory that those can also be "Bonsai-ed" for production purposes, but they need more surface area for the horizontal growth of the rhizome.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

[LeeAnne151]

I have personally seen Sean's dixie cup grown waterlilies and they are indeed, the small dixie cups and very close together in his pond.

Here is a picture:

[img width= height=]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/LeeAnne151/My%20Ponds/BC%20Partay%202003/P8010028.jpg[/img]

In the daytime....

[img width= height=]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/LeeAnne151/My%20Ponds/BC%20Partay%202003/P8010037.jpg[/img]

[greenthumbnails]

YES! That is the article I was looking for but could not find on Sean's new website.  I did not know it was also on Victoria website in original version. Thanks.

Okay, so the magic number is 1 foot apart...guess I have some re-arranging to do.

LeeAnne- Thanks for the pics, gives me a better idea on size of scale. 

I still wish I had more pond space...or one more stock tank...DH says NO!, but he will help me get rid of 3 large tubs that have lotus in them (they are falling apart) and help me sink a 91 gallon preform this Saturday in its place for a lotus bog.    We are slowly making the yard less mish moshy with all my tubs and pails...

[Mike S.]

Greenthumbnails,

Glad you found the article. Just make sure you read the part about limiting the number of pads per plant. That is very important when you want to grow a lot of plants in a small space.

LeeAnne,

Looks like my assumption was wrong! I was going by what I could seen in the much smaller picture in Sean's article. The large one you posted shows the cup size clearly. And that's a good thing! Those look a lot like the cups that fit the despenser on those 5 gallon jug designer water stands in all the waiting rooms. Good deal, as those are very cheap! I'll use my current supply of large cups and then switch over.

Have you tried anything to mass-grow hardy waterlilies? I was thinking that plants with a horizontal rhizome could be grown in shallow, wide containers, such as the inexpensive food storage containers, like the 1 qt bowl. I think this would work using Sean's "Bonsai" method, to produce smaller plants in numbers, in a minimum space.

I appreciate the correction. Just don't know why it didn't occur to me to simply email Sean and get it right the first time.   

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

[LeeAnne151]

I have used those inexpensive plastic containers to grow out hardy divisions for trade. The rectangular ones. Worked great. I haven't mass produced anything but have done it more than once.

[tugo]

After reading and getting impressed by Sean's article, I tried growing Lotus from seed, in dixie cups, placed into a small kiddie pond, just to see what happens.

There were more than 10 cups and 6 of them did survived.Had leaves and roots became pot bound.the plants were of course small, in a way "bonsai".
Before the colds started I transplanted them to bigger containers and now this season they are growing well.

I got the idea that if some wants to have plenty of stock at hand, to be used/sold later, this is a practical way to grow lotus in a limited water source.
Here are 2 pics;(thanks to Sean)

[greenthumbnails]

Tugo- That is very interesting! Who would have thought of trying dixie cups with lotus, neat. Do you have any pics of how they are doing after you repotted them from out of the dixe cups and into something larger? 

[greenthumbnails]

Mike S.- I've tried planting hardies in what looks like large popcorn or salad bowls made of plastic that I get at either Walmart or the dollar stores.  They are okay for a while but quickly outgrow their bowls and stop blooming, so I end up going up in size to the large dish washing tubs that are rectangular in shape.  They seem to like that better. I would be really happy if someone could invent a way to make the hardies bonsai (that is any hardy, not just the mini ones that are around already). I want MORE options for small hardies.

[Mike S.]

I appreciate the information!

As for the hardy plants growing well until they get root bound, that isn't a problem as these will be grown for sales. One thing I've seen with plants grown in small pots is that when the do become root bound, they will take re-potting VERY well. In fact, much better than a plant that is not root bound when it is re-potted. It's more like the sudden extra room triggers a growth spurt.

As for the Lotus, John Davis of Bushnell, FL, long-time IWGS member and my original waterlily mentor, grew his selling stock of lotus in one gallon pots, with many pots in a shallow plastic tank, so the water level was far enough over the pots to keep the plants happy.

By the time he sold them, they would usually have a bloom, and be rather root bound. He told his customers to cut the pot away from the plant without disturbing the root mass and re-pot them in appropriate containers. Those plants, like the root bound waterliles, didn't go through "transplant shock," they simply took to their new environment quite readily and grew like mad.

Totally blew away a lot of what I'd been told about growing lotus.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

[tugo]

Tugo- That is very interesting! Who would have thought of trying dixie cups with lotus, neat. Do you have any pics of how they are doing after you repotted them from out of the dixe cups and into something larger? 

Actually, since the weather is not warm here, all my "young" lotus plants have just small leaves. If I do not forget, I want to check, what happens to pot bounded roots, after staying 2-3 seasons in a large container, will the circled part of the roots stay the same or?

[Mike S.]

In my area where the growing season is very long, plants that are root bound will, over time, either die, or escape.

Escape?     If the plant does have enough nutrient, it can grow and literally push itself right out of the pot! Now, the good news is they can live quite a while after that so you can re-pot them, maybe in a larger pot or take the oportunity to divide them into two pots.

As far as I know from personal experience, the escaped plants do tend to remain in the pond, none of mine have actually taken off and gone down the street.   

But seriously, if the container is large enough, plants that for whatever reason grow slowly, can take a number of seasons to actually become root bound. I would not consider a plant to be root bound until it takes a hammer to add a fertilizer pellet. Then, you need to do something.

Have you thought about making a small, aquatic greenhouse for your lotus? Might extend their growing season long enough to mature and bloom.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL