# Nelumbo?



## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I want to grow these in a 5 gallon pot this summer. So where would I get them, and what is the best way to grow them? Seeds? Anybody grown them from seed? What do they need? Full sun? Is there a preferred substrate? 
Any help would be appreciated. 
Thanks.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Specialty retailers that sell water lilies usually sell _Nelumbo_ also. If you have any water garden stores in your area, that would be the first place to look. They are usually sold as potted plants, or dormant rhizomes if shipped.

It is possible to grow them from seed, but I've never talked to anyone who has done it.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I was kind of hoping I could get an early start on the weather and not have to wait for the local nurseries to start stocking these plants. It is interesting that google seems to have made searching for products harder recently. I did find some seeds offered on line but I haven’t found any plants yet.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

I've found some by searching for "Nelumbo tubers", e.g. that in Alabama: http://tenmilecreeknursery.com/lotus-instructions-the-lotus-nelumbo-nucifera-c-32_37.html

There are lots of Nelumbo cultivars, also dwarf forms (I'm not famililar with them) and crossings between the American N. lutea and Asian N. nucifera, and much literature about cultivation.

Surely one can get flowering lotus from well-developed rhizoms/tubers (it's important that the bud at the tip doesn't break off) within 1 season while growing them up from seeds will take more time.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Thanks for the link. I hadn't thought of those search terms.


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

If it's just in a 5g pot, how do you deal with mosquitos. I'd love to get some outdoor aquatic gardening going this summer, but with Texas heat I imagine small setups would overheat and kill any small fish in them.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Mosquitos have a 10 day cycle so once a week you need to change the water. Or you need fish to eat the eggs. Or you can do it all chemically.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Bruce,

If you're ok with generic white or yellow flowering Nelumbo give LAERF a call. They usually have a ton of seeds in cold storage. Hell, they may even be ok with selling you some chunks of tubers out of their pond that's overrun with them. Ask for Dr. Gary D i c k (yes, that's his real last name, not a pejorative) and tell him you're looking to buy some native species to start growing for planting a pond in the spring. If he can't help you he'll know someone in the area who can. Joe Snow may be another alternative but I don't know if he's still in business.


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