Mega lotus

[Tyler_Fishman]

so I haven’t been on this forum in a while, several months to be exact, (fishlore is quite a busy place) and after getting my feet wet in saltwater if figured I started up my 10 gallon planted tank again. However I wasn’t aware of how large lotuses got, especially since mine was called a “dwarf lotus” it’s Nymphea stellata I believe, and it’s produced a few off set plants already, and surface leaves as well, this one leaf is nearly half the size of the tank. My tank also gets a bit of natural sun since it’s adjecent to my window, I was hoping that it could prompt it to flower because my 5000k LEDs probably won’t condone the most flowering. It grows so fast I have to trim it almost daily, anyone have experience in getting this thing to flower?

 

[Colin_T]

lotus and lilies flower towards the end of the growing season. You need the water temp around 28C and give them at least 12 hours of light per day. If they don't get enough hours of light per day they won't flower.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

lotus and lilies flower towards the end of the growing season. You need the water temp around 28C and give them at least 12 hours of light per day. If they don't get enough hours of light per day they won't flower.

I keep the tank around 77 degrees and the photoperiod is around 13 hours, I supposed they need to build a bigger root system since they have only been in the tank for about a month

 

[Colin_T]

did you grow them from seed or rhizome?

if they were from seed it might take a couple of years. If they are from rhizome they should flower this year.

if they don't flower with 13 hours of light crank it up to 16 hours.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

did you grow them from seed or rhizome?

if they were from seed it might take a couple of years. If they are from rhizome they should flower this year.

if they don't flower with 13 hours of light crank it up to 16 hours.

Bulb actually

 

[Colin_T]

How long have they been in the tank for? They usually produce a heap of leaves then require 5-6 months of growth where they build up the bulb/ tuber. Once they have sufficient reserves in the tuber they send up a flower spike.
If you have only had it in the tank for a couple of months it will need more time.

Try not to cut off too many leaves because the plant uses energy to repair the wounds after you cut the leaves off. And you want as many leaves as possible to maximise the nutrients the plant can make. However, if the plant gets too big you can trim it back to ensure there is some exposed surface for oxygen to enter the water and to feed any fish.