Lotus from seed - brown spots on first leaves

14 years ago

I have been trying to grow lotus from seed year and after year without much success. It's my unicorn. Unattainable.

I have gotten relatively far this year but I am seeing problems.

The lotus are in large containers submerged in a fish tank. The containers are filled with sand. I added two fertilizer tabs per container after about a month from germination. I only have two plants growing at the moment. The first has always been more stunted, and as soon as the leaves unfurled they began to brown at the edges. The second plant is much more vigorous, but now it too has a few brown necrotic spots on its two (3") leaves. This plant has spread in the pot and is sending up an aerial leaf. I am worried that this brown spotting will get worse and kill the plant. Could it be bad seed stock? Could it be spreading from one plant to the other? Please advise. I have been trying hard to grow lotus and am excited at the progress I have made but am now looking at defeat once again.

I can post some pictures tomorrow.

Thanks a lot in advance.

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Comments (3)

Rotareneg
14 years ago
You aren't using tap water are you? When I started my lotus last year I began with distilled water and later rain water, but at one point I used some tap water to top off the water that had evaporated and it burned several leaves:

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Two leaves had dried up completely, one was partially burned, and the last was saved when I flushed the water out with more distilled water. I suspect it's chlorine (or chloramine) that did it.
atokadawn
14 years ago
Ialso use distilled water for mine. Plus you have to make sure as seedlings, they are not deeper than 6-8 inches below the water line.
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sleeplessinftwayne
14 years ago
If it is a plant disease such as rot, it is probably gone but you could try rinsing the leaves (spray, don't rub) with H2O2 then with distilled water. Adding some H2O2 to the water helps as does removing the seed hulls. Lotus are very susceptible to diseases when they are just starting. Next time soak the seeds in H2O2 before and after you chip them. I have much better luck that way.