Flower Love
IMPORTANT TIPS FOR GROWING LOTUS:
1. Lotus needs 6 hours of sun a day.
2. Keep Lotus away from running water or fountains.
3. Don’t let your pot or bowl freeze solid in the winter.
4. Do not submerge the growing leaves.
5. Repot your lotus in a larger container.
6. Protect your young lotus from birds and crustaceans.
7. Fertilize in summer.
GROWING LOTUS IN POTS, BOWS AND BOOTS
Lotuses are perennial plants that shoot in the spring, then bloom in the summer and fall before going dormant in the winter. Lotuses need 6 hours of direct sunlight to bloom, so when you decide on a position for your new plant, make sure it gets plenty of sunshine. Secondly, Lotus are water plants and if you grow them in a pot or bowl, make sure you keep the water level 5cm above the soil, but DO NOT submerge the leaves. Ordinary tap water is fine to use. It is also important to repot your lotus in a larger pot or bowl after purchase. We suggest bowls and pots wider than 40cm with a depth of 20cm for small varieties and 80cm wide with a depth of 30cm for larger varieties.
To repot your lotus, carefully remove the plant from the nursery pot, DO NOT disturb the ROOTS. Then place your plant in the center of your new wide pot or bowl. Carefully place topsoil (good garden soil) around the lotus flower and fill the container 1/3 full with the soil, DO NOT use potting mix. Then add 3cm of pea gravel over the soil and fill the pot or bowl with water, remembering NOT to submerge growing leaves. Fertilize with special lotus bags once a year between December and January. To fertilize, push the bag into the edge of the bowl or pot until it reaches the bottom of the soil. Now you get a guide on how much fertilizer to use…
Bowl/pot 40cm – 60cm wide: 1 bag.
Bowl/pot over 80 cm wide: 2 bags.
LOTUS GROW IN PONDS
As described above in BOWLS & POTS, lotus flowers need 6 hours of sun a day to bloom. We recommend repotting your lotus in a larger pot before placing the plant in your pond. Follow the instructions in BOWLS & POTS on how to repot your plant.
Then place your lotus in a sunny spot in your pond. Make sure the water level covers the top of the pot, but DO NOT submerge the leaves.
Keep your lotus away from flowing streams or fountains.
To fertilize your lotus, follow the instructions in BOWLS & POTS.
LOTUS GROWS IN PONDS AND LAKES
This is the most successful way to grow lotus. If the plant has room to expand and spread, they will flower from December to early April. There are two ways you can plant your lotus in a pond or lake:
1. Cut out a 150mm piece from the side of the baby pot, NOT THE BOTTOM. Then place the plant in a sunny spot in 30-50 cm of standing water near the edge of your pond. Press some mud from the pond against the side of the pot where the section has been removed.
2. Take the lotus out of the pot very carefully and try not to disturb the roots. Place in a sunny spot in 30-50 cm of still water near the edge of the pond. Shoot mud from the pond around the facility.
VERY IMPORTANT: Place protective chicken wire around the plant for the first 3-4 weeks if you have waterfowl, yabbies or crayfish in your mother. Your new lotus plant will follow the receding water line of your pond or lake as they grow. Fertilize with special lotus bags once a year between December and January.
