jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 12:42:12 GMT -5
A water lotus. This one is a large hybrid called 'Maggie Bell Slocum'. I planted two tubers about the size of a small banana June 1.  by June 11 about a dozen leaves  by June 16 about two dozen leaves  Today, June 25, plants have a 40 foot spread and bloom pods  Leaves are large and will be rising off water soon.  Fossil lotus leaf (Eocene). If the stem is cut under water during a sunny day bubbles of carbon dioxide come out of the stem at a high rate. This prehistoric plant has w/out a doubt the fastest metabolism of any plant i have ever seen. Typical of prehistoric fauna.  Seeds that I ordered out of China a few weeks ago. 10 cents each, mixed who knows what Chinese Lotus hybrids. This is day five. The spot on the seed pod is a breach I ground on a grinder to allow moisture in. Seed shell very hard. Lotus seeds were found in Egyptian tombs several thousand years old and were successfully germinated. The Chinese have been hybridizing them for thousands of years. I am interested in seeing what blooms I get out of them. The seeds are small, typical of the small hybrids out of China. I sell 300 lotus/year in pots equal in size to 5 gallon bucket. so i can grow a hundred or so of these hybrids out to see what they got. Ten dollars worth of seeds for a valuable crop of 100 lotus @$25 each wholesale.  Lotus seed pods. The seeds are delicious when plucked out of the pod while green. taste like sweet peanuts  |
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herchenx
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Post by herchenx on Jun 25, 2014 13:39:47 GMT -5
Cool!
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1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
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Post by 1nickthegreek on Jun 25, 2014 14:11:19 GMT -5
Very nice jamesp, when ya gonna grow some p. Cubensis?  |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 25, 2014 14:13:56 GMT -5
Oh my, those leaves are now so huge. You had said it was going to take over that pond quickly! How are the rest of the seeds you started earlier doing?
Okay, now I suppose you are going to tell me that aliens have nothing to do with these pods?
I mean, just look at them!?! They look like a bunch of little mother ships full of tiny smaller craft (aka, puddle jumpers, lol!). Or maybe it's some kind of weapon?
They do grow fast! But from seed instead of tuber, and kept in a small tub, mine are holding back until they get more room to spread. Just the three lotus plants growing here have totally eclipsed the surface of the half tub they are in. Gotta get that pond leveled so I can use it... |
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 25, 2014 14:45:29 GMT -5
Awesome!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 15:30:42 GMT -5
Those seed pods are actually high tech alien listening devices pointed west and listening to you Jean.
they are listening to you Jean
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 15:34:11 GMT -5
Very nice jamesp, when ya gonna grow some p. Cubensis? The local cattle farmers give the cattle an anti-mushroom agent that prevents the growth of those Nick. Not all of them though. they are popular in theses parts. heck of a way to get high !! |
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grayfingers
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Post by grayfingers on Jun 25, 2014 15:46:28 GMT -5
Cool, we used them in the florist biz, never seen from whence they came. Nice scarification, James. Looks way better than using a knife.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 25, 2014 16:10:56 GMT -5
Bill, those seeds are so dang hard, a knife won't cut them! You have to hit them with a grinder to scarify. Without doing so, you could soak them 'til the cows come home, and they wouldn't absorb a drop.
That's the reason they survived for thousands of years in the tombs, and were still viable.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 25, 2014 16:14:23 GMT -5
Those seed pods are actually high tech alien listening devices pointed west and listening to you Jean. they are listening to you Jean They do kinda look like the mouthpiece on an old-style phone. But that would be a low-tech listening device. They have much cooler ways of keeping track of what's going on with whom.
(James, they won't be learning much from me, lol. They've got more important folks to listen to!))
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jun 25, 2014 17:17:23 GMT -5
As grayfingers said, I have seen the pods dried (and sometimes died) in floral arrangement and as chunks in potpourri mixes. I'm sure with your BBQ skills, you will have no problem with drying them out. Very cool. Thanks for posting.
Darryl.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 20:16:06 GMT -5
This boat will drive thru the lotus pods and fill up with them. easy way to collect. all welded aluminum, 35 HP, 1400 pounds  |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 20:24:13 GMT -5
As grayfingers said, I have seen the pods dried (and sometimes died) in floral arrangement and as chunks in potpourri mixes. I'm sure with your BBQ skills, you will have no problem with drying them out. Very cool. Thanks for posting. Darryl. The tubers are a delicacy. taste like balsa wood to me. the holes are conduits for carbon dioxide stir fried sliced lotus tubers:  |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 21:01:51 GMT -5
Cool, we used them in the florist biz, never seen from whence they came. Nice scarification, James. Looks way better than using a knife. Jean is correct. The shell is about 1/32" thick and sounds like glass if you tap it on a hard surface. They are designed to float to the edge of a water body. and roll back and forth in the wave action till they wear a breach. Then the seed sinks and germinates. It sets small hairy roots that anchor the seed meat above the soil so it will not rot. Then it sends out a pointed digger runner that comes out horizontally for a small distance and then turns down and pierces the soil whilst the hair root hold the seed meat fast. The digger stem runs horizontally putting out a tiny tuber about every four inches. Then it is all over, it starts forming tubers at a high rate. As the stem gets bigger it can leave tubers as big as your arm every 5 feet. they can leave tubers feet deep. And many feeder roots. A competitor and I had a competition on who could grow he biggest leaves. I planted some in my neighbors pig manure catchment pond. About a 1/4 acre in size and according to him over 10 feet deep in old pig manure. Needless to say I won at 41 inches in diameter. I am curious what fossil records say about this plant. i have found horsetail fossils having a diameter of 9 inches. that is a tree. I wonder if lotus leaves were 12 feet in diameter back in prehistory. If so, i want the seed. Maybe preserved in an acid bog or a glacier. a lotus seed the size of a coconut, holy cow. Maybe too many Cubensis Nick. Appointment w/the shrink ?? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2014 21:12:22 GMT -5
I like this thread. I like lotus now too! thanks Jim!
As a side note Pitcher Plant seeds need scarifying too. I see online they roll then in the fingers between 100 grit sandpaper to break the shell.
Jim, how do you do it?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 25, 2014 23:02:11 GMT -5
I like this thread. I like lotus now too! thanks Jim! As a side note Pitcher Plant seeds need scarifying too. I see online they roll then in the fingers between 100 grit sandpaper to break the shell. Jim, how do you do it? I have always planted sarracenia as they are Scott. have had varying results. And have grown very few by seed as it is a slow process. Here is a write up. it seems a cold stratification is most important. "6, “Stratification” This is achieved by placing the seeds into a cold damp environment for around 2 months. If you have purchased your fresh seeds during the Autumn period you can simply place your seeds into a unheated greenhouse or cold frame which work very well. To which the seeds will start germinating naturally the following spring time. If however you purchase & sow your seeds during the Spring/Summer months when the weather has started to warm up. You can either wait until the following Autumn to sow your seeds naturally (store seeds in a refrigerator until you decide to sow them which will keep the seeds fresh) or sow & place your seed & pot of sphagnum peat moss soil which can then be placed in a plastic bag & then placed into a fridge for 2 months. Then after the 2 month period has passed. Take your seeds out of the fridge & place them on a bright warm window sill where they can germinate. With this method your simply changing the seasons artificially. Also if you keep your seeds in a bright area while stratifying them you may find that moss & algae may grow well before the Sarracenia seeds start to germinate. So it is advisable to cover the pots over to keep the soil dark while the seeds are stratifying for the 2 month period. This will prevent any Moss or Algae from growing. Then just remove the cover when the seeds start to germinate in the spring.6, It may take some months for the seeds to germinate after “Stratification” has occured. The seeds must be kept warm at around 20’C - 24’C and also have very good lighting conditions which will also help with germination. You can place the pot on a sunny window sill as long as you keep the soil moist at all times by keeping the water topped up in the water tray and mist twice a day you must never allow the soil to dry out fully as this will kill any seedlings that has germinated. The soil must be kept moist at all times." |
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ash
spending too much on rocks
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Post by ash on Jun 26, 2014 11:49:01 GMT -5
cool thread. Lotus are so cool. I wrote a story once called Lotus Shoes based on foot binding so their feet would resemble the golden lotus. Don't actually remember much more about it than that except it is fascinating and horrifying...kinda like the thought of having to wade through the pond on that last pic.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 27, 2014 13:07:51 GMT -5
cool thread. Lotus are so cool. I wrote a story once called Lotus Shoes based on foot binding so their feet would resemble the golden lotus. Don't actually remember much more about it than that except it is fascinating and horrifying...kinda like the thought of having to wade through the pond on that last pic. I researched the Eocene fossils of lotus Ash. The fossilized lotus are found in North Dakota around Camel's Butte. I thought they would be giants. Not so, they were a mere 2 inches across. Maybe giant ones exist that never fossilized. Was really hoping that they had leaves 20 feet across. And since the seeds are so durable, that one of those prehistoric ones could be found and germinated. Planted in Lake Pontchartrain and take over the lake in 4 months. |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 27, 2014 15:10:19 GMT -5
Was really hoping that they had leaves 20 feet across. And since the seeds are so durable, that one of those prehistoric ones could be found and germinated. Planted in Lake Pontchartrain and take over the lake in 4 months. James, you would do that, wouldn't you? Go all medieval, as you call it, turn it loose in the lake, lol.
Around these parts, it's not lotus or water lilies that take over the lakes. It's the water hyacinth. This stuff also spreads like mad. 
This is Lower Otay Lake, more correctly, it's a drinking water reservoir. This is on the north side of Otay Lakes Rd, a little finger that goes up to the dam of Upper Otay. This is about the last place I ever heard a chorus of frogs. Talk about deafening!
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panamark
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Post by panamark on Jun 27, 2014 19:03:06 GMT -5
Let's play "Caption this picture" oh my gosh, it ate Jamesor James, you have been spending too much time with your plantsWhat a great and educational write up. It is so nice to see someone who loves their work and is so interested/interesting. I know James, it must be a love/hate relationship sometimes. Thanks for the great read! |
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