Dorothy...
When I was young, my Grandparents had a lakefront house with 7 cottages they rented out on a half mile long lake front property. My heaven on earth!!! I spent every summer with them frolicking in the lake...swimming, water skiing, swinging on a swing on the water's edge & jumping into the water, fishing, and one of my most favorite--looking for frogs and turles around the cat tails and thousands of lotus leaves with their pretty blooms near the waters edge on the outskirts of the property!!! There was a variety of pretty blooms and as they aged their colors changed. Beautiful... The big leaves would just float peacefully on the water...until one of my brothers would jump out of our row boat into the water to catch something.

Hundreds of lotus blooms...ah, what a great childhood memory!!!

Enjoy Dorothy...

~Mary Jane

Yes, thank you for sharing these photos, some day these would be great to have if only I had a pond? Love them!!

Are they in ice cream buckets?

Linda

yes Ice cream bucket. They work great.
Also doing SW in them.
Grand sons love ice cream! LOL
Dorothy

Thank you Dorothy. I like the pictures alot it helps me. I have those ice cream buckets to use too. Blooms for you this year make sure you post pictures......

OH NO you didn't!!!
I have swore I will not even go there but LOOK!!! OMG!!! I may have to break down and at least have a few...LOL
OH NO!!!!!
Kristy has been trying to convince me for a while now...

Something ate all my lotus tubers last summer so I started a few last week. I forgot how fast they grow. The leaf stems are already about a foot long. I have them in a bucket in the dining room for now.

Anyone got a few seeds to share on these and do you just put the seed in water to grow or does it start in soil?

Ooh, I need ice cream buckets, lol. John better start eating more instead of me buying the smaller size I'll get the buckets. You don't need a pond for lotus Karma. You can grow them in tubs. They grow in shallow water in the mud if you get one of the smaller variety. I had some seeds but the dog ate them before I could mail them out. I'm gonna get some more soon. You have to nick the seeds and soak them, then plant in mud that is just moist until you get some leaves then you add more water.

OH no Kristy now you did it. They do not need a POND? I need more hours in the day!!!!!!!!

Great photo diary!!!

Lucy

Great job, Dorothy! Now you have given me the incentive to grow some from seed! I hope everyone I sent tubers to,are growing. I need seeds back!LOL
Kristy, is yours still actively growing or dormant?
Dorothy, have any of your seedlings bloomed yet? How many varieties do you have?

Theresa

Hope this link works. Lots of great info. while you are there check out the Victoria lilies. I have actually grown one before. My pond was to small and it died over the winter. :(
Dorothy

Here is a link that might be useful: Victoria-adventure.org

This is a picture of my Victoria. It was 5-6- years ago.
The pond "moat" its in is about 3 ft wide. Not large enough. But it bloomed the first year of seed.
I should had clean the leafs off before I took the picture. Oh Well!!! LOL
{{gwi:446234}}

That's amazing, Dorothy! Blooming first year from seed! Those Victoria Are gigantic, one pad would cover my whole pond!LOL

Theresa

Yes the Victoria need a huge pond, lol. Mine is dormant but I ordered some more seeds so I can send you some Theresa. I sure hope mine makes it though the winter. I had my seeds on the table and BB jumped up there and ate most of them but I still had a couple left and hubby put them away and can't find them now. I'm still looking, lol.

Kristy
I need to get some V. seeds also. I now have a small above ground swimming pool should be good for them. Was going to do it last year but never got around to it.
Maybe I will do it today.
Did you get your seeds form Victoria Adventures?
Hope you didn't order from eBay, these are really high.
Dorothy

I'd seen those before but couldn't remember what they were called. Someone offered seeds on GW a couple years ago but my ponds are too small. I just should have made a bigger pond! lol Are you able to get lotus to bloom from seed the first year? I've only been able to get blooms the second season. I tried them in a whiskey barrel the first time I grew them but they were too big by the end of the summer. That's one of the things that prompted DH to finally make a pond for me.

I didn't get Victoria seeds. I don't have room for them. I ordered some seeds that are supposed to be small varieties suitable for growing in containers and not ponds. I haven't grown any from seeds yet. Only the tuber from Theresa and it had a bloom in July. I am worrying myself sick about it being outside but everyone tells me as long as the water doesn't freeze the tuber will just go dormant. If John helps me finish the greenhouse I will go ahead and take it in there where it will be warmer but I will have to get someone to help me. The mud is heavy even if I drain the water out.

Kristy, Don't worry! Your lotus will be fine over the winter. I had mine for 3yrs. I just had it in the deepest part of the pond for the winter. When spring arrives bring the pot to a shallow part of pond, where the pot will be covered with a couple inches of water.The warmer water will help the lotus break dormancy faster. I would worry every spring, because they start growing late. I thought for sure mine was dead. Don't give up :)

Theresa

Dang, I just heard back from the lady I ordered the seeds from and she said they are not selling them this year only tubers so I have to look someplace else. The only ones I saw on ebay were from Thailand and a lot of their ads say water lilly lotus so dont know if it would be a lilly or a lotus, lol.

Check the aquatic plant form here at GW.
Maybe you could set up a trade for spring.
Dorothy

Ah, I have been on the pond side discussion thing but all I saw was trading for tubers and I only have one so can't trade it but I will check on the exchange thing and see if I can trade for some.