AND will what you're doing work in zone 4????

Sarah

Hi Catherine, yes, our tubs are buried next to the pond with rocks around it so it looks like it's in the pond. They do require a lot of water, so be prepared to fill it a lot.
In late fall we cut it back and cover the tubs filled leaf bags (after we rake leaves up) to keep it warm....we are in zone 7, so sheepco I'm not sure how this would work in colder climates. You might have to put the tubs in a garage over the winter.

Joann

Joann - Can you post a picture of what you have set up as described by Catherinet? I'm interested also. Thanks. Loretta

Thanks Joann,
Did you just buy one of those big colored tubs we see in places like Walmart? I bought a 25 gallon Tuff Stuff container. Its about 15" in depth. I think that'll be enough. The container that will actually hold the lotus is smaller around, so we'll still be able to get our fingers in there to pull it out, when necessary.
Do you leave your water in it over winter? Does the water freeze? I'm just trying to decide which is colder for the lotus....frozen water, or frozen leaves??
I didn't know if I left the water in it, and it froze, if that would be worse for the lotus than siphoning the water out and filling that space with leaves?
Sarah....I usually bury my lotus just under the soil here, with a bunch of leaves over it, and they do fine (although they are in a protected area, next to the house). I'm thinking this lotus tub in the ground would work for you, as long as you pile lots of leave on it in the winter.
I'm just trying to figure out if leaving the water in the bigger tub (that the smaller lotus tub sits in), will freeze solid and be more of a problem than replacing it with leaves.

Yes, we leave the water in it. The bags of leaves keep it from freezing solid. The tubs are 18" deep.
Here ya go Loretta

The lotus is in a pot next to the small dock, close to the pond edge.

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here it is when it gets bigger and blooms

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The taro is in the pond, the lotus is outside the pond in a tub.

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Thanks for the photo fix Joann! How are the pups this spring? Are you in the midst of un-covering, un-mulching, etc?
I'll need a new shot or two of the Koi to get me thru March and April here, please.
Sarah

Thanks Joann............now just so I completely understand.......do you have the lotus in a smaller container within the tubs? How often do you have to thin them?
Your's looks great. If this works out for me, I could have dozens of buried tubs around the yard! hahaha somebody stop me!

Catherine, we only have the lotus pot in the ground, no pot underneath. We thin them once in the spring.
Here is a another lotus shot

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here ya go sheepco, in a traffic jam, stuck in the beach...

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Here's a top view of that same lotus. I was standing on the dock...Catherine just to clarify, we bag up our leaves in the fall into big leaf bags, we place a leaf bag over each lotus tub, as well as a few leaf bags over our filter system to keep everything warm.
Sheepco, we haven't begun the spring clean-up yet, but it's just around the corner. :)

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can't wait for the season to begin!

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It always amazes me that our kids remember us after the long winters nap! I've read many times that a fish only has a tiny memory, maybe a minute or so... They should study our pups, as they don't fit into that scientific study.

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Hey Joann,
Thanks for all the info! I think I'm going to put a container within the bigger container....just to make thinning easier. How do you thin? Do you pull that tub out and dump it, or do you just reach into it and pull some stuff tubers out?
Do you have any handles on that big tub?

Quick note about fish and memory - there's a great article in this month's National Geographic about animals and intelligence, which would somewhat coincide with memory, I suppose. From the small bit of info below, it would seem that at least some fish have memories that go beyond a minute or two. I'd like to think so, anyway. :D

"...in certain African cichlid fish, males watch others fight to size up their competition, and females, when fertile, sidle up to the most active territorial males. Meanwhile, subordinate males may adopt female colors to sneak food from another male's territory. 'They can do all this at eight weeks old, with brains the size of a small pea,' says Russell Fernald, who studies how social dealings alter the fish's brain cells."

Brenda

Brenda, I know our pups have very good memories.
It's just starting to warm up here, and they're already starting to rush the beach, in anticipation of snagging a snack.

Joann

Here is the lotus in bloom, by the biological pond in the back.

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Here is that same lotus in the back (not in bloom)

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I'm having major memory problems these days, and can't help but think the fish are still doing a better job than I am!

WOW!!! What a beautiful pond & Fish!! Plants are great also, I'm also going to grow a Lotus in a pot buried next to my pond this year. If all goes well. Thanks for the info!
Dianne

Thanks Joann! I think I'll make it now! S

Thanks for sharing the pics!
Loretta