Growing Lotus in a Tub from Seed | Apartment Gardening

Happy Summer Craftopedians!

Summer always was a tough time for my inner garneder. Regardless of how much water you give, plants wither due to the sheer summer dry winds. But, this harsh season is perfect for a lovely plant which you can try to grow. Lotus, being a water plant, apartment gardeners assume it is only the privilege of independent house owners with a huge pond. Well, that's not true. Lotuses are known to be grown in buckets and water tubs as well. If taken care of, they will bloom as well. Lotuses like heat. They simply LOVE sunlight. They thrive very much in hot and humid tropical regions. 

That being said, there are two ways of getting your plant. Through seed and through tuber. If you plant an year old tuber directly, you can expect blooms within 3 months. A plant propagated through seed might take 12-18 months to bloom. Nevertheless, watching a plant grow from seed is a blissful experience. Hence, I bought seeds from Amazon.in. 

About the Plant - 

Lotus seeds are known to restore their vitality even for 100 years. It's because of their tough shell which protects the inner embryo from external damages. To make it germinate, we must find a way to let water get inside the seed. Lotuses like heavy and muddy soil. As said before, they grow crazy if adequate amount of heat is given. Presently, at my location (Hyderabad, India) the maximum temperature is around 40 degree celcius along with 8 hours of direct sunlight for the plant.

First Step - To prepare the seed for germination.

You just need to make a 'hole' in its outer shell. I've seen Lotus Growing videos in YouTube which suggests you to use a sharp knife to cut off a small portion of the outer shell. I've tried that and nearly injured myself! Luckily, I came across a simpler method.

Use Sandpaper! Buy any soft grade of sandpaper and rub the seed on it until you find a cream coloured layer inside revealed. At this point, stop rubbing as the inner seed should not get damaged. Then, put the seeds into a cup of clear drinking water of lukewarm temperature. Leave it for 12 hours.

Now, you should find the cup something like this -

The water should have turned brown and the Lotus seeds should have swelled in size. If that happens, it means the seed will germinate soon. Change the water with fresh, clear, lukewarm water. In fact, change the water every day.

Germinated Lotus Seed (Day 2)

These are the photo updates of the Lotus seed growth - 

Lotus Plant Seed (Day 3)

Lotus Plant Seed (Day 5)

Lotus Plant Seed (Day 6)

Lotus Plant Seed (Day 9)

Then, the first leaf opened - 

Lotus Plant (Day 11)

Lotus Plant (Day 11)

Lotus Leaf (Day 11)

Lotus Seeds with Roots (Day 11)

Growing Mango Plant from Seed | Update 4 | 6 Months Old Tree

Sorry people!

I 'm really sorry for being lost for a some time.....ok ok ....not some time...its been almost 4 months since my last post. But guys, I have a valid reason. I just got admitted into my college and I had to settle in. But I promise from now on, weekly posts will be uploaded for sure!

So, now that I'm back to Home for Christmas, my mango plant is no longer a plant. It's a mini Tree!
Mom was taking really good care of it. Everyday, it was watered with the water saved from washing rice, pulses and veggies. It proved really nutritious, and here are the results.

Photos taken on 10th December 2018

I think that this plant is ready for grafting. To stay updated about my first Mango plant growing experience, follow my blog.

Growing Mango Tree from Seed | Update 3 | Week 3

Hello People, Welcome to DIY Craftopedia!

Back to the 3rd update on my Mango Sapling. The days are becoming really hot. It is slightly sunny and humid. The plant seems to love it! The leaves have turned saturated green. New leaves are coming up. Here are the pics taken on 04-07-18.

You can see the new upcoming leaves here -

Growing Mango Tree from Seed in a Pot | Week 2 | Update 2

Hello People, Welcome to DIY Craftopedia

This is the 2nd update of my Mango Sapling. Nowadays its not so sunny here. Today was really cloudy but the heat persisted. The present atmospheric conditions here are: Temperature - 26 degree Celsius and 83% humidity. It is expected to rain in some parts of Hyderabad. I do wish it rains. Rain water has magical effects on new born saplings! It's true. I have tested it out that transplanted plants and newly sprouted plants love rain water.

Coming back to my Mango Sapling, It unfurled 3 new leaves which are still reddish brown. The size of one leaf is really good. The others are yet to increase. The remaining old leaves have turned really thick with highly saturated green color. I'm still continuing the water used for washing vegetable peels and food grains to water the plant. Otherwise, no extra fertilizer is used. Every morning, I place the plant in direct Sunlight (Whichever day, sunlight is available!).

Here are the pictures of my Mango Plant taken on 27-06-2018 (Wednesday)

A new bud is growing. Maybe it will produce more branches. Let's wait. To stay updated about my first Mango plant growing experience, follow my blog.

Growing Mango Tree from Seed in a Pot | Update 1

Hello People, Welcome back to DIY Craftopedia.

It's almost 1 week since my last (and the first) Mango plant post. The plant is nearly 3 weeks old. Its growing really healthy. The days are still sunny. The plant is receiving early morning direct sun rays and indirect rays throughout the day. The major update is that the leaves have turned Green completely today(21-06-2018). New major shoots are coming. The overall plant growth is commendable. I'm not yet giving any fertilizers. Almost every day, I use the water used for washing rice grains to water the plant. This technique was proved effective by me for many other plants and I think this is the reason for its healthy look. I would recommend you, not to use any chemical fertilizers as they might burn the sapling. Use the water used for washing food grains and vegetables/fruits to water the plant on regular basis.

Here are the pictures of my Mango plant taken on 21-06-2018

Here you can see the new shoots coming - 

This is the first update of my Mango Plant Growth done on 21-06-2018. Stay tuned for real-time update of its growth every week.

Growing Mango Tree in a Pot from Seed | Introduction

HELLO PEOPLE! Welcome to DIY Craftopedia. Few weeks ago (almost 15-20 days ago), I planted a mango seed in my Pot. I wasn't expecting much but today, I saw the Sapling which is almost 1 week old. So, I decided to make a real-time blog entry and growth process of it. Starting with a brief introduction about the 'king of fruits' - Mangoes!

Mangifera indica, commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant.

It is native to the Indian subcontinent where it is indigenous. Hundreds of cultivated varieties have been introduced to other warm regions of the world. It is a large fruit-tree, capable of a growing to a height and crown width of about 100 feet.

The species domestication is attributed to India around 2000 BC. Mango was brought to East Asia around 400-500 BCE. The species was assessed and first named in botanical nomenclature in 1753. Mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

How did I Plant it?

I did not even knew at the time of planting that the seed must be broken open to reveal the actual seed for faster germination. So probably, it took longer time for my plant's germination. But still it happened. Let me give a brief account of the atmosphere here at Hyderabad, India.
It's June, so its still hot but we have received a lot of pre-monsoon showers. The Temperature here is more than 30 degrees Celsius during daytime and 25 degrees Celsius by midnight. Humidity is around 50% - 60%. And, its really sunny most of the time.

Here are pictures of my plant on 14th June 2018

The Mango Sapling presently has 6 healthy leaves. And 3 upcoming leaves. I will keep posting updates every now and then. 

Growing Lotus in Apartments or in Containers

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!!!

After 3 Months - 

Having a Pond in a Container - Balcony Decoration

Making Your Own Apartment Pond

 

 Do you love the idea of a pond, but don't have an actual yard to place one in? No fear — you can cultivate a mini watery paradise on your balcony or terrace with very little effort by creating a container water garden. By selecting a variety of plants and containers, you can create a customized water garden in any outdoor space that receives six hours of sunlight every day (a little bit less if you are using bog plants).

Small-container water gardens are actually a collection of submerged potted plants, which makes them easy to set up and to rearrange at will. You can use just about any container to start your water garden, but pots with dark interiors give an impression of greater depth, discourage algae growth, and make algae less obvious when it does grow. Best of all, most water plants are tough so the garden is low maintenance, and even those of us with a black thumb have a chance because they are generally hard to kill.

Once you have chosen your display container, use bricks or overturned containers submerged below the surface of the water to allow you to vary the height of your plants to create a lovely landscape. Your local nursery can help with selecting water plants- consider varying tall grasses with cascading plants for interest, and definitely select a couple of water flowers for colour. Top up the water in your container every couple of days depending on the rate of evaporation- if you are using city tap water, let it sit first for 48 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate, or pick up special tablets at the nursery to remove the chlorine. You can plant Lotus or Water lily to enhance the look of your pond.  

Gardening - Balcony Decoration - Petunias

Petunia Seed Propagation: 

How To Start Petunias From Seeds

Petunias are so reliable and have such a wide variety of uses that it’s no wonder it’s one of the most popular garden flowers today. It’s simple to buy a couple of petunia seedlings to fill one planter, but for mass plantings and garden edging, growing petunias from seed is the way to go.

You’ll save money because of the sheer number of plants you need, plus you’ll have a much wider range of flowers to choose from.
Garden centers only carry a few varieties already sprouted and growing, but you can find petunia flower seeds for different sized plants, in almost every color of the rainbow.

Starting Petunia Seed Plants

The most important point to remember when learning how to start petunias from seeds is that these are summer, heat-loving plants. It does them no good to plant them early in the garden, as they’ll just sit and sulk or rot. In order to get these seedlings to planting size at the right time, you need to start them indoors at least 10 weeks before planting time. In the north, this is around the first week of March, and will be even earlier in more southern states.
Although petunias are tough and resilient in the garden, they can be very delicate in the first weeks of life. Start out with a dedicated seed-starting soil mix and new or sterilized planting trays. Of course, you can also start them in eggshells for easier transplanting later.

Sprinkle the tiny seeds on top of the mix and gently moisten them with a spray bottle. Cover the tray with plastic wrap to retain moisture and place it in a bright place out of direct sunlight that averages around 75 F. (24 C.).

Remove the plastic wrap once the seeds sprout and place the trays under lights in a cooler spot, around 65 F. (18 C.) during the day. Keep the lights about 6 inches above the tops of the plants. Use water-soluble fertilizer once every two weeks, and water the plants when the soil dries out.
Transplant the seedlings into individual pots once they develop two or three true leaves. Lift out individual plants with a wooden stick or butter knife, and transplant them into potting soil. Keep the soil moist but well-drained, and return them to under the lights until it’s time to plant them outside.

Pictures of  my growing petunia plants

Well, I got my first flower after 3 months of sowing the seed. The trick is - Petunias need -  Lots of sunlight and adequate amount of water and --------- lots of love !!!

After a month -