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Nymphaea rubra planting

GraemeVW

Member
Joined
27 Jun 2022
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150
Location
Chesterfield
I have 3 Nymphaea rubra bulbs coming and wondered what's the best way to go about them.
I read to just place them on the substrate (sand capped aquatic compost) or maybe bury them 1/3rd.
I did also read you can bury them completely but most places say they will rot.
I've also heard alot are dead, or even fake, when you get them (Ive orderd from random eBay source 🙄).

I'm sure I read you can start them out of the aquarium and plant once they have sprouted, and that sprouting takes 2-3 weeks.

My main questions is, how can I tell what arrives are actually bulbs?
How can I tell they aren't dead?
What's the best, and quickest way, to get them growing?
Just dumping them in and hoping sounds a bit hit and miss.

If I start them in the tank, would it be beneficial to have them placed directly on the soil rather than on the sand cap?

Thanks.
 
They arrived, thought it would be tomorrow.

Well they are certainly bulbs of some description and already have some kind of roots.

20220819_124149.jpg


Not really what I was expecting, going by random internet pics I was expecting something a bit larger and brown. These look for all the world like spring onions!
Just dropped them in the tank for now, they are floating.
 
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I think they probably fine, all my tiger lotus bulbs look similar when I’ve had them. The Etsy picture is a more developed older plant, I think you have been given a bulb which has grown as a runner from a bigger plant like that one, which is one of the ways they spread.

Plant them root-side down in soil/substrate with the tip just poking out.
 
I think they probably fine, all my tiger lotus bulbs look similar when I’ve had them. The Etsy picture is a more developed older plant, I think you have been given a bulb which has grown as a runner from a bigger plant like that one, which is one of the ways they spread.

Plant them root-side down in soil/substrate with the tip just poking out.

Great, thanks.
As I say, I have aquatic compost topped with about 1" of sand. I was considering planting them in little pockets of just soil. Worthwhile? Of jjst put them in the sand and let them find the soil below?
 
Great, thanks.
As I say, I have aquatic compost topped with about 1" of sand. I was considering planting them in little pockets of just soil. Worthwhile? Of jjst put them in the sand and let them find the soil below?
Yeah just pop them in the sand, their roots will find the soil. I’ve kept them in soil topped with sand and they did very well.

Consider in a few months putting a root tab or two deep in the substrate by the base of the plant to keep them well fed off the growth starts to slow down.
 
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