Growing Lotus Plant in
Containers at Apartments
Most on the population in various countries
lives in apartments. Which means having your dream garden is difficult. But not
anymore!!! I bring in front of you the steps of having a small pond in your apartment
Balcony/Porch. Yes! You read it right. All you need are – -
- Lotus Seeds (available at Ebay.com, Amazon, aliexpress.com .etc)
·
A big
Tub (20-24 inches in diameter and 12 – 15 in height)
·
Black/Red/Clayey
soil
·
Small
Bowl (10-15 inches in diameter and 2-3 inches in height). (SHOULD BE CIRCULAR
BOWL)
·
Sand
·
Manure/Vermi-compost/rose
mix/Fertilizer Tabs/Liquid fertiliser.
·
Gravel/Pebbles
(Optional).
Introduction
to Lotus Plant
The lotus is a beautiful water plant with round bluish green
leaves held well above the water. They vary in size from the miniature Chinese
noodle bowl lotus, which has flowers the size of a watch face, to huge standard
size plants which can stand 6-7 feet above the water surface. The flowers open
mid-morning and close mid-afternoon. Each flower lasts three days before the
petals fall away revealing a distinctive seed pod. The pods continue to grow
another 6 weeks until double in size. Flower colours are combinations of white,
pink, red and yellow. Newly planted lotus will not always flower the first
year. The chances of flowering are better if the early summer season is very
warm and sunny. Lotus grows in zones 4-10. Most hybrids are developed from
species native to East India.
Phase 1: Germinating Lotus Seeds
Germinating lotus seeds can be a tricky
job. Lotus seed is covered with hard coating which will NOT let water pass into
it. (In nature the seed takes 100 years or so to sprout). To speed up the
process, we need to remove a small bit of that outer coat to let water pass
into the embryo. To do that, I used a sharp knife. Cut off a small bit of outer
(dark brown) coat to reveal some cream colour cotyledon (Don’t do that too
much, you may hurt the seed). After doing so, put the seeds in a container of
water and wait. Change the water once every day. After 3 days, your seeds will
swell up almost 2 times. And after 2 more days, you can find that the seeds
will split and green shoots will be emerging. And, for 2-3 weeks, place them in
different long jars. They will grow really fast.
Phase
2: Potting
After 1 month or so, the plant is ready to
be planted in its pot. Fill the smaller bowl half with clayey/Black soil and
press it hard. Make a hole in the middle and plant the seed in it. Spread some
manure/rose mix around the seed and cover the entire pot with thick layer of
sand. Place some stones/pebbles for good look and place it in the bigger tub.
Fill the tub with water. Make sure that the temperature outside DO NOT drop
below, 15 degree Celsius before planting them outside. Lotus love heat and
sunshine. So, place them in a sunny and hot spot. Place them at a place in your
porch where they will get at least 4-5 hours of direst sunshine. (More sunshine
– better growth).
Phase
3: Maintenance
The first spring leaves to appear will float on the
water surface. Active growth begins when water temperature reaches 35 degree
Celsius. After some 4-5 months of hot sunshine, probably the lotus will begin
to send up leaves which will stand above the water surface.
In the winter you can store you lotus in an unheated
garage, a greenhouse or drop it to the deepest part of your pond (the tuber
cannot be allowed to freeze). After the last frost the next spring, the lotus
should be lifted from the pond or moved from the garage and placed in a sunny,
warm & protected location to begin its seasonal growth. When the plant has
developed its aerial leaves & the pond again reaches 70 degrees, you can
return the lotus to the pond.
(If the temperatures at your area do not go
below 15 degrees Celsius at night times, you need not let your lotus go for
dormant stage.)
Feeding is not necessary for 3-4 months after the planting. As
soon as lotus starts sending aerial leaves, use fertilizer tabs very carefully.
(As too much fertilizer might burn the plant).
Now
just wait for a beautiful Bloom!!!
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