# You like Water Lily and Lotus? - Picture heavy



## Hanuman (14 Aug 2019)

Hi all,

During a recent trip to Chiang Mai, north of Thailand, I paid a visit to Queen's Sirikit Botanical Garden. I couldn't take pictures of everything so I focused mainly on taking pictures of lilies and lotuses. The garden has over 60 varieties but this is just a selection. Enjoy:


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## tam (14 Aug 2019)

Amazing how diverse they are! Thanks for sharing


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## dean (14 Aug 2019)

I want to try and grow some of these next year 

I fell in love with them on holiday in 2014 but haven’t had the space for them yet 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tiger15 (15 Aug 2019)

For your information, the difference between lotus and lily is the leaf form.  Lotus leaf is a complete circle.  Lily is a Pac-Man with a notch.   The first pic was taken from a lotus pond in the National Aquatic Garden in Washington DC during the lotus blossom festival.  The size of the leaves is immense, about 2 ft across, and the flower is close to a foot.

Lotus is obviously too big for aquarium.  Some dwarf lily is suitable for aquarium.  The second pic was taken from Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo in which both submerged and floating lily leaves are displayed.  The  long stems holding the floating leaves look eloquent but delicate.  Will they  break off easily?


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## zozo (15 Aug 2019)

tiger15 said:


> Some dwarf lily is suitable for aquarium.



Quite a lot Lilies can be made aqaurium suitable.  The plant grows according its tuber size and fertilizer availability vs light intensity.

This is a cutting from a not to big Lily sp. (cultivar) but is not labeled as aquarium suitable and needs 1m² - 11ft² to spread. 20 - 60cm (1 - 2 ft) depht Leaf size up to 20cm (8").. But this information concerns a well grown mature potato sized tuber only.






Inspect such a tuber tuber, it grows pimples, on these pimples are the growing eyes.. From these eyes it grows new young plants. Cut the pimple off without damaging the eye and the plantlet comming out. And replant it in a small aqaurium, or even in a bowl with water on a well lit spot on a table top. Give it some decorative inert gravel and a clay cone. It will start rooting soon..

Than you have an itsy bitsy teenie weenie water lily for many years to come. 

It takes a cutting in above size over a year to grow to this in am averagely lit low tech aqaurium.





4 years - in winter dress




and this in the summer dress - Its a natural lit tank 90x35x35cm. 




Lily converts back and forth in grow form if given a sub tropical temp climate but dynamic light cycle in intensity.

Thus don't be scared about lilies suitability.. They are extremely addaptable and pliable..


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## Hanuman (15 Aug 2019)

tiger15 said:


> For your information, the difference between lotus and lily is the leaf form. Lotus leaf is a complete circle. Lily is a Pac-Man with a notch.



Indeed. My understanding is also that Lotus (Nelumbo spp.) both leaves and flowers rise above the water's surface. Sometimes the leaves wont rise but the flower will. On the other hand Lilies (Nymphea spp.) both leaves and flowers float on the surface of the water. Thanks to google.


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## ourmanflint (15 Aug 2019)

I went to Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden a couple of years ago, but I don't remember seeing these anywhere. I know it's a very big garden so easy to miss things, shame though, would have enjoyed seeing more


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## tiger15 (15 Aug 2019)

zozo said:


> and this in the summer dress - Its a natural lit tank 90x35x35cm.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You said they can grow in low tech.  Are they sustainable long term as my understanding they grow initially on stored energy.  Also, are they tough texture plant like Anubias, or delicate and easily breakable.  The long slender stem holding a huge leaf looks weak to me.


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## Hanuman (15 Aug 2019)

ourmanflint said:


> I went to Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden a couple of years ago, but I don't remember seeing these anywhere. I know it's a very big garden so easy to miss things, shame though, would have enjoyed seeing more



It’s a whole 30/40 meters long geenhouse full of those lotus/lily. Impossible not to see if you visited the garden even quickly. Most probably it was not set up when you went.


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## zozo (15 Aug 2019)

tiger15 said:


> You said they can grow in low tech.  Are they sustainable long term as my understanding they grow initially on stored energy.  Also, are they tough texture plant like Anubias, or delicate and easily breakable.  The long slender stem holding a huge leaf looks weak to me.



They are delicately build and easily damaged.. But they grow in a variety of light parameters. In low light they grow submersed form in high light they convert to floating emersed form and might even flower.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/i-think-i-am-in-love.37099/

Yet not found a mid way, in my experience its either this or that. But once the tuber is mature enough to store enough energy for vegetative repdroduction, it can grow a new plantlet in submersed form next to a emersed form.

Exept the majority of true tropical lilies, these are afaik all rather light and temperature demanding. Lilies grow from a number of different  tubers.  "Marliac, Tuberosa, Odorata and Mexicana"

The true tropicals are Mexicana tuber, its actualy more a bulb rooting verticaly than a tuber that rather roots with runners  The non tropicals are all tubers and less demanding and more cold resistant..

In general what offered in the LFS for aquarium are true tropicals.

Tho i'm not sure about the term True.. Nobody knows the true origine of the Nymphaea. It's aready cultivated for milleniums. The first found writen historic references about it are Asian.


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## zozo (15 Aug 2019)

zozo said:


> rather roots with runners



Sorry language barier.. I meant rather roots horizontaly..


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