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    Thread: Lotus question for Floridians

    1. #1
      Paulzie67's Avatar
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      Lotus question for Floridians

      This is my first year growing lotus and they seem to be.... crapping out on me. Is this normal for this time of year? No new leaves and older leaves are deteriorating. I know it's winter, but being in Florida, I guess I was expecting them to..... keep growing? Or just slow down, not stop and go backwards.
      Any comments, advice or suggestions appreciated.
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    2. #2
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      It's not you....it is the sun, or lack there of. Nelumbo are responsive to day length and shorter days lead to dormancy. From my experiences, all commonly available Nelumbo go dormant even in FL. One possible exception is one known as 'Bali Red'...if memory serves. I have seen it grown at The Kampong in Miami and they list it as a tropical lotus and told me it does not have an obligate dormancy period. But the down side for those not having a tropical clime....it does not readily form tubers and would be difficult to overwinter outside of South Florida.

      This from my friends at FAN:
      " Nelumbo ‘Bali Red’ flowers all year-round in the tropics and in heated greenhouses. The Kampong in Miami gave this beautiful Lotus, with dark red flowers to Florida Aquatic Nursery. This particular Lotus was collected in the Bali area and, unlike other Lotus varieties, has a propensity to flower in cooler weather."
      Last edited by CraigP; 11-30-2021 at 07:37 PM.
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      Craig

    3. #3
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      I have a few small (mini or bowl) Lotus and while they are not doing great, they do have a new leaf each, but the ones that stopped are all Native Florida Nelumbo lutea. Guess I assumed Natives would be ok Silly me LOL
      But I supposed Next year they'll Look GREAT!
      "I read a book about Stockholm Syndrome.
      At first I hated it, but by the end I loved it."
      "If not for mans ability to Mimic, most humans would probably still be living in caves, grunting at each other."

    4. #4
      CraigP's Avatar
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      << Guess I assumed Natives would be ok >>

      The natives are indeed okay. You need to look at the bigger picture....N. lutea is indeed native to FL, but if you look at the map linked below, you'll see its primary range in FL is north FL. And it is not endemic to FL.....the natural range covers much of the east coast and most of the natural range is habitat that does indeed have frigid winters. So while N. lutea does range into Fl, as a species, it is a species which evolved to survive winter freezes and part of that adaptation was going dormant as the days shortened, independent of temperature. It is not an unusual adaptation in plants in the temperate zone. So what you are seeing is the evolutionary response in N. lutea to shorter day length. In essence....the Florida specimen share the same genome as those in colder climes and there is nothing deleterious in their going dormant here, as winter temperatures are below the 75F mark I see as the minimum temperature for optimal growth. No downside to the dormancy....no selective pressure against the gene(s) involved in the process. So like their northern contemporaries, they go dormant.

      The Institute of Systemic Biology and IFAS are both excellent sources. if you are nt already familiar with them. Here are a few links you may fight helpful.

      https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant.aspx?id=2954
      https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-di...nelumbo-lutea/
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2000761/
      https://plants.usda.gov/home
      Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. And you must bend to its power or live a lie.”― Miyamoto Musashi

      "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." ~ Jimi Hendrix

      “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking


      Craig

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