The Latest Method for Growing Bowl Lotus: Soil Culture
The demand for potted bowl lotus has been quite strong in recent years, and at present quite a few farmers have taken up growing and cultivating it, with decent returns. However, many people who want to grow bowl lotus probably still do not really know how to grow it, so below we will teach everyone how to carry out soil culture of bowl lotus. Whether you are a farmer or an individual wanting to grow it, you can all learn!
1. Seed Treatment
The seed coat of the bowl lotus is fairly hard, so if you rely entirely on the seed itself to break the shell and sprout, the success rate will be relatively low, which is why the seeds need to be treated by hand. A bowl lotus seed has one round end and one pointed end; bowl lotus generally sprouts from the round end, so you need to properly treat the skin at the round end. The common approach is to lightly crack it or pierce a hole so that there is a gap at that end. This way you will not damage the bowl lotus seed itself, and it will also be easier for the seed to wake up.
2. Waking the Seed
The way to wake bowl lotus seeds is very simple: just soak them in warm water, and they will absorb water on their own and then slowly sprout. The water temperature should not be too low or too high; generally 10-15°C is fine. The waking period is relatively long; they usually sprout in about 5-7 days, and after 10 days they can be planted out. During the waking period the water must be changed often, preferably once every 6-8 hours; if the temperature is high during waking, about 2 times a day is enough.
3. Planting Out
When the sprout of the seed grows to about 8-10 cm, you can begin planting it out. Take out the sprouted seed; there is no need to dry it, and it can be planted directly. The soil for planting out does not need to be very fertile, but the upper layer of soil must be relatively airy and permeable, and finally you can appropriately mix in some fine sand. Also, the soil must not be compacted together, otherwise the young bowl lotus shoots will grow very slowly in the early stage. It is best to drench the soil thoroughly with water beforehand, because moisture is one of the factors bowl lotus relies on most for growth.
4. Points to Note
In the early stage, bowl lotus seeds are rather fragile, and their root system is very sensitive to sunlight and fertilizer, so in the early stage they should be exposed to as little sunlight as possible, and generally no fertilizer is needed. When planting out, the pointed part should face downward, and the soil should cover the whole seed, with its skin about 3-5 mm from the surface of the soil layer; the covering soil does not need to be deliberately pressed firm. The best time to grow bowl lotus is around July-September, when the temperature will make bowl lotus grow relatively fast. If a soaked seed still has not sprouted after more than 10 days, then the seed is basically useless, and you can consider replacing the seed.
The above is the soil culture growing method for bowl lotus. Of course, it can also be grown in water; if you are interested, you can watch for our later articles. When farmers grow it, do not put too many seeds in each pot for waking, otherwise the sprouts can easily cross over each other when they emerge; it is best to make them face one direction, so they will not easily cross.