Last summer, I picked up one of those cheapo plant bulb assortments from Wal-Mart, which wasn't the first time and I've gotten some pretty sweet plants from them before. I'd mostly gotten some fungus-enrobed slimeballs though.
This batch, I decided to drop into my koi winter tank, located in the basement under a window which was spraypainted over by the hoodlums who lived here before. I don't know why I did this but ALL of the bulbs sprouted and produced plants
. No heater, no lighting, no ferts, not even any fresh fish poop (Though last season's residuals were probably plentiful). By the time my koi came in, the roots were strong enough to withstand the fish's gold-digging routine. Now that I (kinda) know what I'm doing, I can't believe I did that and I can't believe it worked! They eventually died off as it got cold, I removed the stems and forgot about the bulbs. I vacuumed the gravel today, cleaned the filters and added a heater and a light to wake my guys up. As I siphoned, I found buried treasure! The bulbs and their massive root systems were still there! I know the aponogetons enjoy a good winter hibernation and I also know that tank is getting broken down and turned into something else once I can evict those koi. I took the bulbs upstairs and put them in my 5gal, where I start my plants. Now that I've bored you to tears ,
FINALLY, THE QUESTION: Do the Tiger Lotus bulbs go through a dormant period like the others or are they never coming back? They were too cool to die.
This batch, I decided to drop into my koi winter tank, located in the basement under a window which was spraypainted over by the hoodlums who lived here before. I don't know why I did this but ALL of the bulbs sprouted and produced plants
. No heater, no lighting, no ferts, not even any fresh fish poop (Though last season's residuals were probably plentiful). By the time my koi came in, the roots were strong enough to withstand the fish's gold-digging routine. Now that I (kinda) know what I'm doing, I can't believe I did that and I can't believe it worked! They eventually died off as it got cold, I removed the stems and forgot about the bulbs. I vacuumed the gravel today, cleaned the filters and added a heater and a light to wake my guys up. As I siphoned, I found buried treasure! The bulbs and their massive root systems were still there! I know the aponogetons enjoy a good winter hibernation and I also know that tank is getting broken down and turned into something else once I can evict those koi. I took the bulbs upstairs and put them in my 5gal, where I start my plants. Now that I've bored you to tears ,FINALLY, THE QUESTION: Do the Tiger Lotus bulbs go through a dormant period like the others or are they never coming back? They were too cool to die.
