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| Planting Lotus Tubers Spring
and Fall |
| Please handle your Lotus tuber carefully, as they are fragile and can be
easily damaged. The first thing we do is turn over the pot of Lotus over after
the Lotus has gone dormant.
Do not do this if there are leaves present as it can mean death to the
plant and tubers. I can not stress this enough the plant has to be dormant for
the tubers to be ripe. Normally this is in late fall, winter or very early
winter, before the plant has produced any new leaves. Once you have the pan
turned over take a hose and wash the entire dirt off.
It is recommend that you float your
lotus tuber in aged pond water for 10-14 days in a warm sunny place before
planting. This allows the tuber to sprout and will increase your success in
growing lotus. Be sure to change the water if it becomes nasty
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 This will allow you to see what is what. There are 2 main parts that you will
see a runner and a tuber. Runners can turn into tubers but it is best to start
with a tuber. Runners are long and thin. Tubers will have a growing tip that is pointed.
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 This picture shows the tubers and runners that have all the dirt washed off.
Click on picture to enlarge.
Can you see the growing tip located just above my thumb? Click on the picture to
enlarge it. Use a sharp knife and nice clean cuts once you have washed all the
soil away for the tubers and runners.
Use the same type of soil that you use for lilies. I use heavy garden soil or
a garden soil/clay mix. You can buy topsoil in bags at most garden centers or
nurseries. Do not use artificial soil (soil less media) as it will float out of
the pot and cloud the water.
 Begin by fill the planting container with soil and
then make a depression approximately 2 inches deep in the middle of the pot.
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Place the tuber in
the soil with the thickest portion down in the soil so that it will ultimately
be covered with about two inches of soil. Place it with the smaller end, the
growing tip, pointing up and out of the soil. The growing tip must be exposed
and not have any soil covering it up. This is important. Place a good size stone
on top of the tuber to hold it in contact with the soil. This will also keep the
tuber from floating out of the pot. Carefully add dirt over all the parts of the
tuber. Once you have added the soil, cover the Lotus tuber 1/2 to 1 inch of pea
gravel taking care once again not to cover the tip. If you have fish in your
pond, they love the tubers and if your fish like to dig in pond plants you can
be sure the Lotus tuber will float out so you may want to add more gravel.
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Can you see the growing tip
is up above the soil? This tip
must also be up above the gravel. |
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| For Spring Planting ONLY |
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Don't put the Lotus in the pond right away. I place the
plant in a warm sunny area like a deck or patio until new growth is evident.
This way if the weather gets cold at night, as it can in the spring, you can
bring it inside for the night. When you are planting the Lotus in the spring put
about three fertilizer tablets in the soil but make sure that these tablets do
not touch the tuber itself. It is best to put them near the outside edges of the
pan. DO NOT add fertilizer tablets if you are planting in the fall.
After the Lotus is planted slowly add a couple of inches of water, being
careful not to expose any part of the plant except the growing tip. Like lilies,
Lotus will not grow if this tip is not exposed to water at all times. Check the
water level in the pan every day and add more as needed. It must not be allowed
to dry out or death is certain. Once you see several new leaves that means the
tuber has rooted and you can then place it in the pond so that there is about 3
or 4 inches of water over the top of the Lotus pan. If you decide you want to
add the Lotus to your pond water the water depth is important. Dwarf varieties
should be ultimately placed no more than 4 inches and full sized varieties
should be place no deeper than 6 inches. When adding to the pond make sure that
there is good top growth as that is an indication that the roots have taken hold
and started to grow.
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| Fall Planting ONLY |
You should NOT fertilize a fall division of lotus. Begin your fertilization
program in the spring when new growth begins (the first leaf breaks the
surface).
When dividing lotus in the fall, place the newly divided, potted lotus in the
bottom of the pond for over wintering, ensuring the tuber will not freeze. Once
new growth begins to show in the spring, you can lift the pan up so that it has
its ultimate depth of 4-6 inches. Before you place the Lotus and pan back in the
water, gently poke a hole in the soil, near the outside edge of the pan in 3 or
4 places and push a pond fertilizer tablet into each hole. Dwarf varieties
should be ultimately placed so that there is no more than 4 inches of water over
the top of the pan and full sized varieties should be placed so that there is 6
inches of water over the top of the pan.
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| Growing them pond side |
Because my fish love Lotus I grow them pond side for 2 reasons. I dig out an
area near the pond that will accommodate the pan. Then I simply lower the pan
into this hole. As the foliage grows the leaves will camouflage the pan so it is
not visible. The second reason for planting pond side is that in order to bloom
freely Lotus must be feed regularly and that can cause green water. I feed
fertilize mine every 3 weeks using Job’s sticks for blooming plants.
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