lotus not doing so well.... maybe I wont be giving away so many :)

[tinkster]

My lotus are really starting to worry me.  They multiplied into so many after last year.  I started with 4 pots of them and all the pots where just stacked full. 

I transplanted some into a big tub and put it in my basement and was going to try to winter over some outside just to see.  I was so sure the ones in the basement would live to give me starts if the outside failed.  When I was adding water today, I noticed a few of the tubers had floated to the top so I picked them up and they are rotted.  I pulled a few more out of the dirt and they are very soft also. Its been such a warm winter up till the last few weeks I think it might have been to hot down there for them.... I am wondering if I will lose them all..

The ones outside I am pretty sure will get frozen.  We are really having a cold spell this week that suppose to last all next week and the worst in 10 years.  I have them covered with bags of leaves but when I lift those up the water is still slightly frozen, by the end of this cold snap I bet they will be gone.  Should I try to dig those tubers out and float in a bucket??

Tinkster

[tranquility]

Tink,
don't give up on the outside ones...we get down to the single digits here....mine are outside in half 55 gallon barrels and they have come back for 4 years now.....they can take alot...as long as the tuber itself doesn't freeze they will return...also maybe the mushy ones you found are just last years growth....
Lawanna

[andrew davis]

The outdoors stored plants sound like they are still in good shape, the cold just enough to keep fungus from taking off...  the leaf bags keeping the cold from freezing through, you might put an extra one foot thickness of leaf bags over them, or a couple of layers of plastic to retain sufficient ground warmth so the tub does not freeze right through

Indoors, lotus are very vulnerable to rotting off at borderline growing temperature

Regards, andy
http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l42/adavisus/

[Teresa]

Tink - leave the outside ones alone and they'll be just fine.  Lotus can handle an awful lot of cold and be just fine.  I used to leave mine outside in above ground containers all the time and while we don't have long term cold here, we do have as much as a couple of weeks straight of well below freezing temps.  (Mine survived a full week of nighttime temps in the teens.)  Remember that there are lotus native to the US that live at least as far north as Minnesota (they live in the lake my cousins live on, in the shallows).

[Johns]

Tink,

Good advice above.  Best treatment of lotus is never touch them except in very early spring (March or April in your area). haul them out of the pond for thinning and repotting and put them right back in.  They will reward you by trying to take over your pond!

[Jerry]

Johns, you mean like when you divide tubers and send them to wonderful people like uhhuhhh me?
I took a number

[Vickie]

I drug a bunch of my lotus inside the basement in Dec.  I have done this for a couple yrs because I cannot put them in my ponds. I keep the soil damp. My basement stays between 50*-60*. I have not had a problem so far with them.

[tinkster]

Thanks all for the good info.. I added more leaves today and will just wait it out and see..

John.. I sure wished I hadnt fooled with them this fall!  Hopefully though next year I will be able to leave them alone.  I think I finally have all thier permanent positions done .    The ones you sent me were so huge and put off so many babies.  I cant thank you enuff!

What do yall do when your not sure if your lotus are gonna make it?  I have the big  lotus pond and 3 big tubs I sank in the ground for lotus.  I would hate to wait to late to order them for this year but dont really want to order any more other than a yellow and some bowl lotus.  Will they show signs of either life or death early enough for me to still order lotus this spring?

tinkster

[Johns]

Jerry, How many do you want?

[Jerry]

What ever is comfortable for you.  I don't wanna make a pig of myself.
The pond will be good this year, but the 5 days of frost devastaded the garden.  90% will recover, but it will take time. :'(
The last severe frost was in the 1930s, so hopefully things will be nornal again.
Thanks again.

[Johns]

Darnn that global warming!!   

[Teresa]

What do yall do when your not sure if your lotus are gonna make it?  I have the big  lotus pond and 3 big tubs I sank in the ground for lotus.  I would hate to wait to late to order them for this year but dont really want to order any more other than a yellow and some bowl lotus.  Will they show signs of either life or death early enough for me to still order lotus this spring?

Tink - I would wait and see what happens.  First off, you want to divide before they start actively growing anyway. . . so if you need to dig down in the dirt and check the tubers, that should be ok.  Second, you can get lotus starts from up north later than from the south, so there should be some available to you a bit later.  My big brother ordered me a lotus start pretty well into summer one year . . . it was a lovely one and grew quite well for me.  I gave it away when I gave the rest away . . . after I realized I wasn't gonna get any more blooms because I have no sun.  I do think your outside lotus will be fine . . . they can be divided either in the fall or in the spring, they don't care.

[andrew davis]

>>What do yall do when your not sure if your lotus are gonna make it?

Everyone has to wait and see what breaks dormancy.

Usually, if you know they have been dormant frost free and there is no trace of nasty yucky decomposition coming from their tub, you can be confident of lotus starting up. Patience can be quite a virtue with lotus

You can usually see blackish water and irridescent 'slicks' in from positions where lotus tubers have rotted

Frank Matherley (Matherfish) lists some humdingers on ebay through the season, he has a good eye for nice varieties, there are many stunning varieties trickling in from China at a very good price, the next few years... lotus seed is always a low cost option all year round if you don't mind taking pot luck on how a lotus turns out

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

[tinkster]

thanks all! 

johns.... cant prove global warming by me... -1 today then warmed up to 2o or so so it could snow 8 inches.. I cant even find my pond.. figure that will be more insulation over the leaves though for the lotus