Lotus rehab

I need some experienced advise on how to get my lotus back in shape. I have had this plant for years in a pot thats about 24-30inches in diameter and for the most part it has done well. Last year I cut down a tree that had grown and shaded my water garden so I was expecting more and better growth and flowering from my lotus and water lilies. I fertilized with tablets I have been using for years early in the spring. They are suppose to last a year.

As you can see from the picture the leaves have poor color. Its what I would call chlorophytic, meaning nutrient deprived. That surprised me since I fertilized them adequately. Also does anyone have any ideas about why the leaves were such a sick color? It only had a hand full of blossoms too.

The second pictured shows how the plant got top heavy and kept tipping over. I didn't have the time in the spring to really address the issue so I left it leaning and you can see the new growth in going straight up now.

What a mess. I need to rehab this plant and want some advise. Should I pull it out and repot it now or repot it in the fall or winter. Maybe it would be best to wait until new growth begins in the spring.

Thanks,
Helen

How much sunlight do they get? From the pictures they're starving of sunlight. Sunlight is used in the leaves to make sugars with the nutrients from the fertilizer. This is what the plant uses. No sun the plant probably is starving.

My lotus is huge and has the same color. I would just trim the dead/ dying leaves. Had it flowered this year?

Happy ponding!!

belle

Fountain Man, my pond gets about 8 hrs of sun/day. And I put plenty of long acting fertilizer tablets in the spring. The plant is very overgrown and maybe the amount I used still wasn't enough.

bellieg, yes its flowered but not nearly with the gusto it has in past years. There have been maybe 6 small flowers so far.

My plant obviously needs help. I am wondering when I should pull it from the pond and repot it? Now or later?

Thanks, Helen.

It might be root bound, how about repot / divide.

Belle

Thats what I am thinking Belle. I wonder if you or anyone know when the best time of year is to repot?
Thanks.
Helen

The last time I divided and repoted was early spring before the leave unfurl.

Belle

What's the PH of the soil? I've had issues with my plants not producing much when the PH is a bit low or too high. If you can take a measurement of this the PH needs to be 5.5-8. Temperature may also be a factor. Water that is too warm may put alot of stress on aquatic plants. I see this every year with my Pickerel Weed. The water hits 85+ degrees and the plants slow down leaf production and leaves it does have start to get spots.

If you want me too I can forward this thread to a friend of mine who is an experienced horticulturist. Maybe we can come up with a diagnosis.

Thank you FountainMan. I would love to hear from an expert.
Helen

Got reply. The problem is said to be rapid temperature fluctuations. Durring the day the sun rapidly heats up the water causing shock to the plant. My friend said the best thing to do it remove the dead or dying leaves and situate the plant in shallower water. And if this doesn't work it's a disease or bacterial infection and for this it's best to have the Lotus quarantined in a kiddy pool or bucket to prevent other plants from being infected.

Your friend is right, take it out of the water and remove the decayed rhizome/roots, dried leaves and use new dirt. I would also put fertilizer spikes. I use miracle grow brand.
Good luck.

Belle

Thanks FountainMan. Now I think I can move forward with some knowledge about doing the best thing. The only point I am a bit confused about is putting the plant is shallower water. It seems that would allow for more fluctuations in temperature.
Thanks bellieg, for your input too.
I think I will work on the plant now. Clean up the pot, remove dead plant material, refresh the planting medium, etc. Any recommendations on soil type. I know lilies like heavy clay soils.
Helen

?As far as planting medium I use (and so with other ponders) red bag cat litter from Walmart and weight it down with pea gravel.
there is a detailed discussion thread on pond plants planting medium.
good luck.

Belle

The water acts as a heat sponge. More common in smaller shallower ponds but in large ponds as well. A few years ago I did tested this at my neighborhood swimming pool. The kiddy pool was covered while the swimming pool was uncovered. And I found an night both pools had the same temperature but during the day the large swimming pool was 10 degrees warmer than the covered kiddy pool. We're talking 20,000 gallons of water. From what I've learned this can be enough to cause stress. To prevent this the soil must me shallower to muffle the temperature change. The roots grow at the bottom of the pot so by placing them in shallow water won't hurt the plant as much.