The Lotus

This is a easy to grow aquatic plant which is hardy in zone 5 and warmer if the water does not freeze solid. A bit of a mystical plant the chinese lotus or scientific name Nembo has been used in ton of stories and is sacred to many cultures. The flowers can be around 4 inches to 10 inches wide and most have a very strong good smelling scent. Their are a few miniature forms as well as species and large growing forms. The last few decades has shown some interesting hybrids. I have grown around 15 varieties and am always interested in more. The most unique quality to them besides the large flowers are the huge leaves which look almost totally round and are repellent to water. When a drop of water is on the leaf it acts like mercury and roles off. I have grown leaves up to 2 1/2 ft around on some larger plants. Here is a picture of a flower on the lotus.

Beautiful Brian, are you growing that outside? Did I read that you have pools in your gh?

How to grow a lotus. A lotus is a runner type plant and loves to spread. Many people grow them in large koi ponds in pots 3 to 4 ft wide and 6 to 8 inches deep. They can grow and flower like this but will not reach maximum size with out over growing the pot. A lots likes room and a bog type pond is best. These are instructions on how to build lotus bog.

Find a area were the lotus will look good as well as receive a lot of sun. The lotus can reach 4 to 6 ft tall and I usually have them near other water features. Edge the area out to give a view of the shape and size you would want. I usually do a oval type shape something about 4 to 8 ft wide and 8 to 12 ft long or longer. The smallest I would suggest is 4x4 but the larger the more dramatic. I dig the bog down about 8inches and then going in about 1 to 2 ft dig out another 8 inches. This gives the large tubers a place to be protected in case of a really hard winter your plant will not die out. After dug out level off the top. I use a long 2x4 piece of wood and a level to get it as close as possible. Once done place your liner in the bog. You may get some wrinkles around the edges try to fold them over as best as possible. Then you can place large flat rocks around the perimeter and pebbles in-between and around the edge usually 8 inches around the rocks to cover any liner exposed. Once done I use the dirt dug out to feel in the center deeper area and a bit extra as the air will be taken out so a few extra inches. Once done place your lotus tuber or plant in the center. I usually add a few fertilizer tablets at this time to either side of the plant usually 8 inches away from were it was planted. Then add water if you find some areas leaking before it is completely full remove the large rock and add dirt or sand under the liner till it is completely level. Once all is done wait a few days and add menos or feeder gold fish. This prevents mosquitos from infecting the bog. After this the plant will fill the bog up and you will most likely not even seen the water. Though it is dead stagnate water the plant survives as will the fish and the water does not seem to sour for any of my bogs. It is extremely easy and is less maintenance than ponds or waterfalls

A lotus is easy to grow once it has matured. It can sometimes be more like a weed if no controlled in some way and in some cases completely taking over natural ponds. A lotus like full sun warm waters in summer and to not freeze solid. Here in KY we rarely have our water freeze more than 6 inches so if the lotus is under this it will be fine now if they are in pots it can freeze solid. The following pics are from the St louis botanical garden were they have a huge patch growing on the side of their oriental pond.

A closer pic of the grove.

Here is my mother next to her bog I built a few years back. Possible her favorite thing in the garden. This summer she counted over 30 bloom in one day. It bloomed most of the summer with multiple huge blooms. They have a very strong smell of what I call cherry vicks vapor rub smell. If you smell a flower it will remind you of that vicks smell very stong but still good to smell.

oh forgot the pic. here is the pic of her bog.

that is soooooo fabulous

Fantastic photos ....thanks for sharing.
Kaleem

Brian, that is a beautiful flower!
:) Donna

Thanks for the info i got around 10 dozen or so lotus seeds im not shure what color but they were dirt cheap so what the heck. I really can use this info.

Thanks Alot
Jerry

Well Brian....you've inspired me to try lotus once again....I have plenty of seeds....once they get past the nickle size, they fade away. But looking at your moms, it's worth planting one for the gipper....
Mary

Impressive plants. If it can take full sun, it's a plant for my yard. Brian, are you a teacher?

Thanks for the info! I already wanted to make a lotus pond this spring, and I'll use your instructions. I need the real thing to go with the lotus tattoo on my forearm.... ;->
(the lotus is a very important image in Buddhism, it symbolizes enlightenment)

In the Odyssey by Homer, eating the Lotus makes eaters forget their homeland or takes away their desire to return home. Back when I taught ninth grade literature, my students would reserach the different "lands" Odysseus and his men visited, and the present day Tunisia seems to be the parallel for the Land of the Lotus Eaters. It turns out that Tunisia is famous for its lotus flowers, along with a building they call the upside building.

Your tattoo has the flower of the lotus but the leaves are nothing like what the aquatic lotus have? I have seen this in hindu paintings. Their is another plant called a lotus but is not aquatic or as pretty in my book. What I dont understand is were the leaves for your tattoo as well as the paintings and such has come from??

I completely forgot about Land of the Lotus Eaters!. And bwilliams, the design I used is from an ancient Buddhist artwork. I just moved the leaves around, but didn't change their shape. And you're right, I remember reading that there is speculation that the original flower was not a lotus, but I can't remember now what it might be. Hmm. I'll have to research that and get back to you!

Just thought I'd add this little tidbit to the "lotus in Buddhist art" discussion. I have this drawing of Quan Yin, who is traditionally shown on a lotus blossom. Notice the leaves are the same as in the ones on my tattoo. Hmm. Worth looking into, now I'm curious.

Looks like a Chinese stylized Tree Peony leaf and flower to me.

Ric

Ah, I think you are right, I think I remember that the speculation was that the original artwork was of a peony. But the symbolism of the lotus is that of a beautiful flower that grows out of the mud, representing our enlightenment growing out of the "mud and muck" of life. I guess the two flower images got combined somewhere along the line. That's a beautiful painting by the way.

Our neighbor grew 100's of peonies and that's what I thought of when I saw your ink.
Nice work BTW!

Ric

Would I be asking for trouble if I planted lotus tubers right in the ground in a heavy gray clay that stays wet? I would like a huge stand of them but don't want them creeping across the whole yard. LOL

It would need standing water at least a few inches of them

This is going to sound like a stupid question (but I'm among friends here!), but what is the difference between water lilies and lotus? I see that water lilies are much smaller. I'm planning my water garden, and it will only be about 3 ft. by 5 ft., so I don't want anything too enormous.

Well, my place is new, but standing water does not seem to be a problem except in the heat of summer and I am told I have three wells here. We know where two are and they need new pumps. Filling it a couple times during the summer shouldn't be bad if the water is free. LOL

Margu, lotus (Nelumbo) leaves actually start out on the water but then rise 4 feet or more up into the air. The leaves actually stick up off the stems and so do the flowers. Water lily (Nymphea) leaves actually float on the water as do the blooms. You can buy smaller varieties that do not take up so much space or buy other plants that resemble lilies but are not. One is a more vertical plant while the other is more horizontal. I hope this makes sense.

The difference is they are totally different plants in that they are in different families. Its about the same as trees they are all trees but a oak and a pine are very different. This is how water lilys compare to lotus they are both aquatic plants and share the same features but are not really alike.

If you decide you want to try a lotus, you can grow them in a big tub. They don't actually have to go in the pond. You can also get very small water lilies that will grow in a large container as well.

Hate to bump this back up, but I was wondering what variety of lotus is in your mom's bog? It looks like 'Mrs. Perry D Solcum'

Thanks!

Lovely....looks like a beautiful rose.

Badseed...the water may be free, but it takes a lot of electricity to run those pumps!

Surprised me when we got our first electric bill!

That's quite a nice tattoo, margu!

It is Perry D solcum and changes from pink to white with age. No pumps in the bogs, water never stagnates either.

I had to scroll back up to see what you meant Nan. LOL One has a manual pump and I have a spare tire to burn. :) I'll have to see about the other still. At my other house, water usage was about 1/3 of the bill while sewage was more like 2/3. Here I do not have to pay the disposal of the used water and the bill is still as high as at my other house. Hmph!

Thanks Brian, I was wondering what kind to get, this sealed the deal, you have D-mail!