Starting the native American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) from seed is easy.
Start them now in Fall, keep them protected from frost and they will flower next summer.
native American Lotus
The big seeds need to be nicked, so I held them in a vice and filed carefully until I could see the cream-colored inside of the seeds at one spot.
Lotus seed pod
Next, I put them in a glass with warm water on my kitchen window sill, and every time I noticed the glass I exchanged the water with warm tap water. In a few days the seeds sprouted.
Baby Lotus
As soon as the sprouts were a few inches tall and started to reach out of the glass, I planted them in buckets.
Cheap paint buckets bought at the box store seem to be just the right size.
First I filled the buckets with mucky dirt. I am ‘lucky’ enough to have just that in my yard.
I planted the babies, each in its own pot, filled it up with warm water and placed them in a sunny spot on the back porch.
seedlings
The first Winter
Shortly after planting, the first small leaves (silver dollar sized) came up. I added a little of the all-purpose liquid plant fertilizer.
the temperatures dropped in January/February and the lotus babies quickly went dormant. I left them in the sunny location but brought the buckets into the garage during the coldest nights.
The days got warmer and the plants started to wake up, all but one. Until the leaves started to grow, I covered the buckets with screen material so not to invite bugs.
baby lotus
Soon the first aerial leaves grew. They seemed happy in their buckets, and seemed to like the occasional all-purpose liquid fertilizer.
In May I found good homes for two of the babies.
First Summer
Middle of May my lotus baby was planted into a three-gallon pot and placed in the ‘Salad Bowl’ with a canna, horsetail and water lettuce.
Since the lotus is a strong and fast grower, I suggest NOT to release it in your lake, pond, or in the wild, but keep it contained.
lotus bowl
A bubble fountain adds oxygen to the water for some water snails and minnows, those have the job of eating the mosquitoes.
In a matter of three months, I had to evict the horsetail and most of the water lettuce since the bowl got too crowded.
lotus bud
In August, I found the first lotus flower bud!
The bud opens up to become a beautiful, creamy white flower.
lotus
native American Lotus
classic Beauty - the Lotus
