Hi timbersmith,
What makes you think it was a deer? Is it possible that it was an animal that accidentally fell into the bog? I worry about that with mine. I have a 30 gallon Tuff Stuff container in the ground with soil, and just one lotus. I worry about things stepping in it.
I wouldn't plant anything else in your 20 gallon container. The lotus will fill it up more than you want.
I've actually never grown bog bean before. Is it pretty aggressive? If you don't think the 2 plants would interfere/compete with each other, I don't think there would be a problem differentiating lotus tubers from the other, when you thinned it out.

Well, I guess I am just assuming that it was a deer, but I do know that they are in the area, so that question is still valid. I've got rabbits around as well, so it might have been one of 'em. The strange thing was that none of the rocks around the edge looked to be disturbed (CD-sized rocks covering the edges, with pebbles surrounding), but 3 or 4 leaves were totally missing, not just broken off and hidden in the mud. And the bog was the only real source that could cloud the water that much (I do have a lily planted in plain dirt as well, but that's covered with 3/4"+ pebbles and the biggest fish is a 6 or 7" goldfish, no koi. Everything else is in gravel or kitty litter). I guess I could see some birds causing it since the pond has been the source of some turfwars between rival Robins, but that wouldn't account for the missing leaves. They also prefer to use the stream as a bird bath, but the pigeons like to drink from the bog.

I've never grown bog bean before either (never grown lotus before but that's beside the point), but I was thinking that it would make a good cover for the rocks/pebbles/transitions that are going on. Some things that I was reading say that it can be invasive (then again, what water plants couldn't be considered invasive), but I don't think it'd be any more invasive than the watercress has been. And the lotus can invade that container as much as it wants - though I'm still wondering how I'm gonna divide it when the time comes in a year or two (It's an Angel Wing lotus - so one of the mid-sized varieties). Trying to remove the container out of it's hole is not something I'd relish tackling, I bet.

I'm still in the learning phase though, having mainly book-smarts at the moment - aside from what I've learned trial-by-fire (mostly what *not* to do, thanks to the previous owners). This was definitely a "hmm, WTF?" moment that still has some unsolved mysteries about it.

Its really hard to know what it might have been. I do know that coons can cause considerable damage to everything in a pond, if its shallow enough for them.
I've heard of people having problems with otter and muskrats, if they live close to a river/lake.

What I did with one of my lotuses was to plant it in a 7 gallon shallow tub, and then drop it into a 30 gallon sunken container. Then I filled it all up with water. That way I can get the lotus container out easily to thin it every year or 2.
I have a 300 gallon Rubbermaid stocktank lotus bog that's sunk into the ground and filled back with dirt. I have no idea how I'm ever going to thin that one!
You're right. EVERYTHING is invasive! I set a small pot of reeds into the lotus bog year before last, and little did I know it had escaped through a hole in the bottom of the pot. I'm still pulling the reeds out.
I've never had birds bother any of my plants, so I doubt that the birds are your problem. If you have deer, you probably have coons too. They love fish. They love plants. They love live chickens. They love garbage. They love just about everything, and they are very messy getting to it all!
Good luck Mike!
I hope you post some pics sometime.

I've got bog bean...yep, it's invasive. However, I've got it set in one area so that it's somewhat forced to grow out into open water (which it does quite well!) but then it's easy to cut back. In a shallow container it will set down roots everywhere and really anchor itself into just about everything. But then so will a lotus for that matter. Like Cathernet I grow the lotus in a tub to contain it. Easier to deal with.
---David

Hi,
When I was out in Vancouver I had a problem with coons not only getting into the pond but they would dig/ bring stuff to the pond to wash it before they ate. That caused a lot of headaches because I never knew where they got some of the stuff, most had to come out of the neighbors garbage so I was very worried about chemicals. Made a heck of a mess. I also have noticed that when the local rabbits come around my pond they often leave a mess in the pond just from the water soaking the dirt off their paws. Don't even get me started about the mallards and their feet from wandering around the yard before they got back in. Any critter that will get into the pond can foul it pretty good without doing anything. But your lotus theory sounds right
I would suggest you put the bog bean in pots if you are worried about having to remove it, I can never get everything out when I remove a bare root it is easier and cleaner to just pull out the pot.

Sure sounds typical for a raccoon rather than a deer. In my experience the deer either bite off the foliage or pull it up until it breaks. The raccoons dig around in the mud under the foliage to locate any tubers. The foliage gets pretty beaten up but most of it is still there if you look around. Sandy

Yea, I'm betting it's a raccoon as well - the only night over the weekend where the pond wasn't hit was Sun morning - every other day had something different. Sat morning must've been interesting, cause a couple of the rocks around the lotus bog had fallen off, one of the Saggitaria had some stalks broken off, and almost all of the vallisneria that I put beneath the stream was shredded/missing/floating away. Not to mention that the lotus has been partially dug up and most of the leaves were broken off as well. Oh well, I've got a trap with its name on it.

The fish are interesting, though - every morning they've got the "Raccoon? What raccoon? There was a raccoon?" act going on like nothing had happened - guess it's a testament to including 3 large "safe houses" for them to hide in when I ripped everything apart.

I do have a bunch of pics I've taken along the way, though I need to resize 'em before I can do some show and tell (resizing 'ems not the problem, I just haven't gotten around to it yet). Just need some time is all.

- Mike