Lotuses are water plants that have their leaves and flowers rise well above the waters surface from just a couple of inches to sometimes as much as 6 to 7 feet. The leaves are green and round and the flower usually rises above the leaf height. Lotus blooms come in colors of red, pink, yellow, white or a mixture of some or all the colors. Lotus plants are classified in basically four size categories: Bowl Lotus (very small), miniature, medium or large. Make sure you take the size in consideration when planting your lotus tuber. We have put a brief description by each lotus photo stating the size, pot size, spread and water depth of each.
Lotuses are hardy water plants that once established can take the cold, as long as the rhizome or tuber doesn’t freeze. The lotus tuber will live through the cold winters as far North as Alaska. The lotus tuber will break dormancy once it is in sun, water and temp above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Lotus tubers can be planted once all of your hard freezes are gone or in warmer climates later winter early spring. Lotus plants will usually grow for about 4 to 6 months threw out the spring and summer months. In late summer or early fall the lotuses leaves will start to look as though they are sick or burning. Do not be alarmed when this occurs. This is one of the life cycles of the lotus. It is a sign of the lotus going dormant for the winter. Lotus like direct sunlight in cooler or moderate climates, If you reside in a hot climate you may have to shade the plant some when temp get above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Texas Water Lilies can only ship the lotus tuber from January to the beginning of April while the lotus is in its dormant “Tuber” form. Once the lotus starts to grow it becomes too fragile and finicky to ship bare root. We are the largest grower and supplier of the lotus in the U.S. When April arrives, and although we state we are out of lotus, well, it’s not true. We have thousands, but it’s too late to ship. We ship the lotus bare root. We will place the lotus tuber into a large zip lock bag and add peat-moss for insulation and cushion. Then they will be put into a small shipping box, about the size of a shoe box or a little larger. Newspaper is utilized around the zip lock bag for insulation and for a cushion. TWL ships USPS (United State Postal Service) Priority Mail 2 to 3 day service. TWL takes great pride in the growing, picking, packing and shipping. We grow all of our own plants and pick fresh daily, keeping the Lotus tubers at room temperature. Every afternoon we hand deliver the lotus tubes to the local post office for shipping, to ensure you the freshest plant.
Once you receive the your lotus tuber you can do one of three things, never leave tuber totally exposed to direct sunlight with out being planted and never leave the lotus tuber outside when temperatures drop below freezing unless planted. The first and best thing to do is to plant the tuber in the place it is going to planted and grown. If you do not have your planting area ready, you can simply leave the tuber in the zip lock bag the way that it was shipped. Store the bag in a cool, dry, dark place. A closet inside the house would be the most appropriate place. The tuber will last a couple of weeks stored like this. Or once you receive your lotus tuber you can float it in a large no-hole container inside. You can use the actual growing container that you plan on planting the plant in or simply us a large mixing bowl from the kitchen. Put the container near a window for light and sun. Fill the bowl or pot up almost full of water. Then simply put the lotus tuber on top of the water. The tuber will float on the waters surface. Change water every 3 to 7 days. The lotus tuber will start breaking dormancy and you will see some green leaves opening up. This is okay just as long as you can get the tuber planted within a couple of weeks once it breaks dormancy.
You can plant lotus tubers two different ways. Most lotus like direct sun, unless you live in the hotter climates then shade is sometimes a blessing. First, if you have an earth bottom pond and want the lotus to take over the entire pond from 1” to 4’ of water depth, simply plant tuber in the bottom of your earthen pond. Secondly, as most of our customers prefer, would plant the tuber in a container, pot, ornamental face or bowl, whiskey barrel, etc. You can plant the lotus tuber in almost any type of No-Hole container. Make sure you always plant the lotus tuber in a sturdy NO-HOLE CONTAINER. If you plant the tuber in a regular pot with holes it will find the holes and come out of the pot, which could cause a mess or make your lotus just not perform at all. This container you use needs to be at least 2 gallons on up to a 50 gallon or bigger depending on the size of lotus plant. I have used 2 gallon mixing bowls from the dollar store before, for the smaller varieties, but they are not usually made of high quality so they are only good for about one year. Another container that I use a lot for the bigger varieties is large black cattle feeder containers, which I believe were used to haul molasses for the cattle to eat. They are probably about 30 to 40 gallons big. If you drive out to the country and find cows well they probably have the containers that I am talking about and usually the ranchers or cattle owners would be more than happy to get rid of containers. You can also use horse feeding containers, oil catch pans, old large kitchen pots, regular five gallon buckets, or what ever you come up with. Just remember to be sure that they are sturdy and will not crack or break while the lotus plant is growing. You can also purchase a lotus pot from about any water garden store. We carry the lotus containers that are specifically designed for growing lotus. Whatever type of container you use you need to have them at least 6” deep and at least 12” wide. Take your lotus growing container and put in dirt. I use regular old dirt, topsoil, yard dirt, ditch dirt. The best dirt to get is river bottom dirt which usually will have a lot of nutrients in it. You can usually get free dirt somewhere like your yard, a near by ditch, a construction site, etc. The best ration is about 60% clay and 40% sand but almost any type of soil will work. The more sand you have in your dirt the more you will have to fertilize. You are going to put dirt in your container almost filling it up but leave about 1 to 4 inches from the top depending on the size of your container. Then you can get water into the container or go ahead and install your container in your pond. I would put the container in the pond first before putting water in the container because it will sure be a lot lighter. Once water is over the dirt go ahead and plant your tuber. You want to plant the lotus tuber in the horizontal position with the cut part or back part of the tuber next to the wall of the container, letting the beginning or growing point go in the direction of the center of the pot. You want to ease the tuber down into the mud just enough to anchor it, the higher the better. Leave the growing points sticking straight up. Ideally you will have the main part to the tuber submerged in the soil and the growing tips exposed just above the soils surface. You want the water level to be just above the growing tip, if you want the lotus tuber to break dormancy as soon as possible. Ideally once the plant breaks dormancy and starts shutting up leaves then you can ease the pot down to the proper growing depth of the plant. Smaller varieties will grow in 1” to 6” of water. Medium and large varieties will grow in 4” to 3’ of water really depending on the variety. Never plant the tuber at the bottom of your container. Some people simply place the lotus tube on top of the soil and use a rock or brick to anchor the lotus tuber down. If the tuber is not properly anchored by the soil or weight it will float. I would not recommend fertilizing the lotus until it breaks dormancy and starts to grow. Once you see leaves get about the size of your hand then I would put in fertilizer pond tabs. The rule of thumb is one tab per gallon but for lotus I would use about 2 tabs for smaller varieties and 4 tabs for larger varieties every 3 to 4 weeks. The pond tabs are specifically made for aquatic plants. I suggest not using just any old type of fertilizer. Trust me I have tried that and lost out big time and I mean big time. Lost entire crops using the wrong fertilize. Some other no-no’s are over fertilizing and fertilizing the lotus before breaking dormancy. They just are too finicky and fragile while in the dormant state.
Okay now you have a growing lotus. The lotus leaves are going to grow well above the waters surface and the blooms will rise above the leaves. When the lotus is growing you need to get on a fertilization and bug control program. Fertilize every 3 to 4 weeks while the lotus is growing. Lotus leaves attract aphids and caterpillars. So I dust my lotus with 7 dust. Frequent light applications are the way to go. Do not ever put liquid spray on the lotus leaves. This will fry the leaves just like putting gasoline on them. When you have your lotus leaves’ growing it is really cool to put some water drops on the leave and watch the water bead up. It will look as though the water has turned into mercury. The plant may need some shade If you are located in a real hot climate. Once temperatures get above 95 degrees the leaves just do not like it, if in direct sunlight. The lotus will usually grow until the end of summer. Then the plant will appear to be dieing or drying up. Don’t be alarmed when this occurs. Its just one of the lotus’s life cycles. They need to go dormant to survive. At this time is when the lotus starts tubering up for the winter. When the leaves go down you will be left with a lotus pod where the flower used to bloom. People use the lotus pod for all kinds of decorations, if your lucky there will be some fertile seeds left in the center of the pod. You can do all sort of neat things with the seeds, Oriental Tee's, Indian Bread, or you can grow the seed out for next year. No telling what you are going to get. May be a new variety. People eat the lotus tubes as well.
Every Spring I would repot the lotus. There is nothing like virgin soil and the root system of the lotus will have taken over the entire pot causing the lotus just not perform well unless it is repotted yearly. Good luck with your lotus and if you have any further questions please email me or call
Cmomobotan@aol.com
or 936-931-9880
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