How to Plant and Care for Hardy Lotus

Text Box: Lotus tubers are tube shaped with sections. There should be at least 2 to 3 growing tips on the tuber. The tubers will be different sizes depending on the type of lotus you ordered. They range from as big around as a pencil to as big around as a large zucchini, length could be 4 inches to 24 inches. The size of the tuber doesn’t determine the quality of the plant or how well the plant will grow. The tuber’s purpose is to hold the food for the roots and runners to get their start. After the runners start to appear and move around the container, the tuber just disintegrates. What you will want to look for in a lotus tuber are the growing tips, there should be at least one of them on each section of the tuber. The growing tip of the tuber is very fragile. The main reason why people fail when trying to grow a lotus is because they either break or bury the growing tip or they try to break the lotus tuber into more sections so they will get more lotus plants. If they are not careful the growing tip can get broken and chances are that section will not break dormancy. When placing your lotus in the pond the pot they are planted in needs to be anywhere from 3 inches to 8 inches below the surface of the water. Lotus do not like fluctuations in water temperatures, the tuber will be fine in water that is at least 55 degrees, but once the tuber has broken dormancy and starts to grow, you must be sure that the water temperature doesn’t drop drastically. If this happens the lotus tuber may go dormant and may not come back. Some of you might grow them indoors or in a greenhouse until the weather remains stable, if you do this be sure when you transfer the lotus that the water temperature in your pond outside is equal to the water temperature where ever you have been growing the lotus. Just be sure you are going to keep the tuber in the same pot , it is not advisable to transfer the lotus from one container to another once they have taken root and started growing, transplanting must be done prior to them coming out of dormancy in the Spring, before they start sending out runners. We recommend when you plant your lotus that you prepare the soil in the pot at least a few days before. We suggest placing 2-3 inches of soil in the bottom of the container, and if you are using tabs then place them around the pot (see picture) Then pack the rest of the soil and place the container into the pond or submerge it into the body of water where you will be growing the lotus and let the soil soak in the water for a few days. Lotus tubers are buoyant and will float so when you are ready to plant the lotus tuber just lay it on top of the soil do not bury the tuber. You can dig a small trench and place soil over the part of the tuber where there is no growing tip or you can use a rock to keep the tuber from floating to the top. Or you can use a U shape wire that will not rust in the water, on the largest part of the tuber to hold it down. Don’t put the wire on the joint of the tuber. Be sure the growing tip is pointing up. (see picture) Be careful not to confuse the growing tip with the leaf. The leaf will appear first and right next to it is the growing tip, which will come out from under the stem of the leaf. Sometimes people think the growing tip got broken, when it was the leaf that broke. The leaves will sprout out way before the growing tip so you can see which is which. (see picture) The lotus leaves will rest on the water for a time until they develop strong roots to hold the leaves of the plant above the water. Remember the lotus will grow up out of the water and depending on the size of the lotus you decide on it could go as high as 6 feet, when deciding where to put your lotus be sure to keep this in mind. The leaves and the flowers of the lotus can be rather large, you wouldn’t want them to obstruct the view of some other plant you might have on the outside of the pond. Once the tuber establishes itself and starts growing it will be hard to stop it. As we suggested before, the depth of water for lotus is about 6 inches, once the water is 55 degrees or warmer. Depending on the fertilizer you are going to use, be sure that the lotus are getting enough at least every 3 to 4 weeks. They are very heavy feeders during the growing season. You can use a fertilizer that will feed for up to 6 months, such as the one we use and sell here on our farm. Our tabs are specifically for Lotus. Depending on where you live the lotus should start blooming late July and they will continue to late August. In warmer regions they may start blooming much earlier. Keep in mind the lotus like 85 to 95 degree temperatures for at least 3 months in order to grow and bloom. In most cases the lotus will bloom the first year, this is very dependent on the weather and if the lotus are getting fed enough. In winter to keep the lotus from freezing place the container at the lowest part of the pond or to where the lotus will not get frozen solid. It won’t hurt if the water freezes above the area where the lotus roots are, you just don’t want the roots to get frozen. The best time to move the lotus is after the first freeze of the season and before the first hard freeze. If you cut the leaves and stems before placing them in the deeper part of the pond for winter, be sure the stems are dry. When the stems are green they are hollow and water can travel through them into the tubers below and possibly rot them.

Text Box: After placing the fertilizer tabs this way, fill the container with soil don’t fill all the way to the top, that way the lotus runners will have a harder time growing out of the container into your pond.

Text Box: Be careful not to break the growing tips if you place a rock or U shape wire on top of the tuber to keep it from floating.

Text Box: If you are planning on growing lotus in a container outside the pond or on a patio, be sure to protect the container both day and night until the weather will stay warm. A container outside of the pond or smaller water gardens warm up faster during the day, however they cool off faster at night. We suggest that you cover the whole container to keep the water warm in case there is a cold front.