Illustrated Guide to Soilless Cultivation Methods and Care Precautions for Bowl Lotus
Bowl lotus, also known as white lotus, hibiscus, lotus, etc., is a perennial aquatic herbaceous flower of the genus Nelumbo in the family Nymphaeaceae. It not only has large, brightly colored flowers with a delicate fragrance that drifts far, and green leaves that ride the ripples, but also has extremely strong adaptability. Since ancient times, it has been a precious aquatic flower for palace gardens and private home gardens, and in today's modern landscape architecture it is increasingly favored by people. Now let us take a look at the soilless cultivation methods for bowl lotus!
Cultivation Advantages
Soilless cultivation of bowl lotus can avoid soil-borne diseases and pests, and topdressing with inorganic fertilizers is odorless, does not breed mosquitoes or flies, and is clean and hygienic. Moreover, soilless-cultivated bowl lotus has deep green leaves, many large flowers, brilliant colors, and a long flowering period, while also offering the advantages of simple operation and easy mastery, making it most popular among home flower-growing enthusiasts.
Sowing Time
Lotus seeds of bowl lotus have no dormancy period. As long as the water temperature can be kept above 16°C, they can be sown in all four seasons. Under suitable temperature and light conditions, from sowing to flowering takes 50-60 days in spring and 60-80 days in autumn.
Seed Treatment
The outer shell of lotus seeds is hard and dense, so artificial notching must be done before soaking. One end of the lotus seed has a small pointed tip, and the other end has a small concave dot. Rub the end with the small concave dot on rough concrete ground until a layer of skin is worn through. Be careful not to damage the kernel inside, and do not remove the shell. The purpose of rubbing the skin is to allow water to seep in through this opening, causing the seed to absorb water and swell.
Seed Soaking and Germination
Soak the shelled seeds in warm water at about 20-40°C. When the water temperature is below 20°C, seed germination and growth are too slow; for small-scale home soaking, the seeds can be placed in a thermos bottle to keep warm. The speed of germination is also related to temperature. At 30°C, soaking to promote germination generally takes 3-5 days for sprouting, with the embryo emerging from the opening. During this period, change the water once every 1-2 days. Generally, as long as the seed coat can absorb water and swell, it can germinate.
Container Selection
For soilless cultivation of bowl lotus, a round goldfish glass tank can be chosen, wrapped on the outside with black cloth or black paper and then wrapped with a layer of white paper to prevent various algae in the solution from multiplying in sunlight and to prevent the underground rhizomes of the bowl lotus from turning green and affecting flowering. Light-blocking glazed pots, porcelain pots, purple clay pots, etc. can also be used.
Sowing Method
When sowing bowl lotus seeds in soilless cultivation, the key is to use a suitable substrate to secure the seeds so they do not float up in the water (for example, use fine sand around the seeds, which is soft and does not damage the root system, and use pebbles in other areas). The cultivation substrate is sterile water, slag, sand and gravel (clean coarse sand or rain flower stones), etc.
Timely Fertilization
Prepare inorganic fertilizers into a suitable aqueous solution. Apply a nutrient solution containing elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc once a week. You can choose the plant nutrient solution formulated by the Beijing Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or use general-purpose compound fertilizer tablets for potted flowers, placing 1-2 tablets per pot each week. A ternary compound fertilizer can also be used, once every half month, with 3-5 granules each time.
Reasonable Pruning
When the leaves of the bowl lotus grow too many and too dense, some leaves can be appropriately removed to facilitate the plant's respiration and ventilation, and also to help with flower formation. When using the same container to cultivate multiple plants, if the leaves are found to be competing for sunlight, they should be divided into separate pots in a timely manner.
Bowl Lotus Cultivation Methods and Precautions
The planting techniques for bowl lotus are different from those of other flowers. Now let us look at the planting techniques and precautions for bowl lotus. Let's see how bowl lotus grows.
I. Conditions for Bowl Lotus Growth
1. Soil
For the cultivation soil, fertile river pond mud is the most ideal choice. If river pond mud is difficult to obtain, Xiantu (black Xiantu is preferable) can also be used.
2. Sunlight
Be sure to give the lotus sufficient sunlight. Flower growers must not only place the bowl lotus indoors to decorate the environment and admire it, leaving it indoors for a long time so that it cannot see sunlight and forgetting that it is a plant that loves ample sunlight. Only when the potting soil is warmed by the sun can it grow rapidly.
3. Water Volume
The water volume varies according to the stage. When bowl lotus is first planted, the water should not be too much. Too much water will lower the temperature, which is unfavorable for the rooting and development of the young seedlings, and also affects their respiration and ventilation, and may even cause root rot. When the plant's leaves grow larger, clear water needs to be gradually added to the bowl to meet the needs of its leaves floating on the water surface for photosynthesis. Otherwise, the leaf edges will become scorched, withered, and yellow.
II. Key Points for Planting Bowl Lotus
1. Sowing time: Lotus seeds have no dormancy period. As long as the water temperature can be kept above 16°C, they can be sown in all four seasons. Under suitable temperature and light conditions, from sowing to flowering takes 50-60 days in spring and 60-80 days in autumn.
2. Seed treatment: Carry out shell-breaking treatment on the seeds. The fruit coat of lotus seeds has a special structure that is hard and thick. After the seeds fully mature and dry, water and air are not easily permeated, respiration is very slow, and they are in a state of forced dormancy. Therefore, lotus seeds can be buried in soil for hundreds or even thousands of years without germinating or rotting. This is the reason for the longevity of lotus seeds. In order for lotus seeds to absorb water and oxygen after sowing, break the forced dormancy state, and enter germination and growth, shell-breaking treatment must be carried out before seed germination.
The lotus has an anatropous ovule, and the embryo is borne at the top of the seed. When breaking the shell, the basal end of the seed should be broken, that is, the end where the seed is attached to the receptacle, which is also the concave end of the lotus seed. It can be cracked with scissors or pliers. Before sowing, generally it is only necessary to rub through the fruit coat (that is, the hard shell of the lotus seed) until the brown seed coat is visible; when cracking the shell, just make a 2-3 mm crack at the base, and do not crack too deep, so as not to damage the embryo. After soaking for one day, when the embryo absorbs water and swells and the fruit coat softens after absorbing water, you can peel off 1/3 of the fruit coat by hand along the broken shell area to expose the embryo and facilitate the elongation of the embryo. It must be noted that the broken shell area must not be too large or too many. If the entire hard shell of the lotus seed is removed, the embryo will lose protection and is very likely to rot and die.
3. Seed soaking and germination: A summer water temperature of 20°C-30°C is very suitable for lotus seed germination. Depending on the number of seeds, use a bowl or basin filled with water, just enough to submerge the seeds. Place indoors and change the water twice a day; germination can occur within 1 week. After sprouting, place in a sunny spot, strengthen light exposure, and do not let it lack water. After 2 weeks, fine roots and 2-3 tender young lotus leaves grow. When the leaves are coin-shaped and the root system has formed, they can be divided and planted.
4. Sprout seedling transplanting: Choose a bottomless-holed ceramic pot or plastic flower pot with a diameter of 18 cm-30 cm, and add half a pot
of garden soil or river pond mud free of chemical pollution, add water and soak two weeks in advance, and do not fertilize. When transplanting, press the fine roots of the young lotus seedling into the mud, one plant per pot, and add an appropriate amount of water after transplanting, just enough so that the water does not submerge the small lotus leaves.
5. Autumn and winter management: 2-3 weeks after transplanting, when entering the peak growth period, if the leaves turn yellow, a small amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ternary compound fertilizer can be applied as a topdressing, with dilute fertilizer applied frequently. Lotus likes warmth and light, and is not tolerant of shade. When the outside temperature is below 16°C, growth slows, and it should be moved into a sunlight greenhouse.
I hope my introduction can be helpful to you. To learn more about bowl lotus, please follow Huobao Agricultural Materials News.
Bowl Lotus Planting Methods and Precautions
I. How to Plant Bowl Lotus
The planting method for bowl lotus is different from that of ordinary flowers, because the seeds of bowl lotus are relatively hard and therefore need shell-breaking treatment. Carry out shell-breaking treatment on the seeds. The fruit coat of lotus seeds has a special structure that is hard and thick. After the seeds fully mature and dry, water and air are not easily permeated, respiration is very slow, and they are in a state of forced dormancy.
The lotus has an anatropous ovule, and the embryo is borne at the top of the seed. When breaking the shell, the basal end of the seed should be broken, that is, the end where the seed is attached to the receptacle, which is also the concave end of the lotus seed. It can be cracked with scissors or pliers. Before sowing, generally it is only necessary to rub through the fruit coat until the brown seed coat is visible; when cracking the shell, just make a 2-3 mm crack at the base, and do not crack too deep, so as not to damage the embryo. After soaking for one day, when the embryo absorbs water and swells and the fruit coat softens after absorbing water, you can peel off 1/3 of the fruit coat by hand along the broken shell area to expose the embryo and facilitate the elongation of the embryo. It must be noted that the broken shell area must not be too large or too many. If the entire hard shell of the lotus seed is removed, the embryo will lose protection and is very likely to rot and die.
II. Planting Methods for Bowl Lotus
1. Sowing time: Lotus seeds have no dormancy period. As long as the water temperature can be kept above 16°C, they can be sown in all four seasons. Under suitable temperature and light conditions, from sowing to flowering takes 60-80 days in spring. The best sowing time: March to early May.
2. Seed treatment: The outer shell of lotus seeds is hard and dense, so artificial notching must be done before soaking. One end of the lotus seed has a small pointed tip, and the other end has a small concave dot. Rub the end with the small concave dot on rough concrete ground until worn through, or crack a small opening with pliers. Be careful not to damage the seed embryo, and do not remove the shell.
3. Seed soaking and germination: A summer water temperature of 20°C-30°C is very suitable for lotus seed germination. Depending on the number of seeds, use a bowl or basin filled with water, just enough to submerge the seeds. Place indoors and change the water twice a day; germination can occur within 1 week. After sprouting, place in a sunny spot, strengthen light exposure, and do not let it lack water. After 2 weeks, fine roots and 2-3 tender young lotus leaves grow. When the leaves are coin-shaped and the root system has formed, they can be divided and planted.
4. Sprout seedling transplanting: Choose a bottomless-holed ceramic pot or plastic flower pot with a diameter of 18 cm-30 cm, and add half a pot of garden soil or river pond mud free of chemical pollution, add water and soak two weeks in advance, and do not fertilize. When transplanting, press the fine roots of the young lotus seedling into the mud, one plant per pot, and add an appropriate amount of water after transplanting, just enough so that the water does not submerge the small lotus leaves.
5. Management: 2-3 weeks after transplanting, when entering the peak growth period, if the leaves turn yellow, a small amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ternary compound fertilizer can be applied as a topdressing, with dilute fertilizer applied frequently. Lotus likes warmth and light, and is not tolerant of shade. When the outside temperature is below 16°C, growth slows, and it should be moved into a sunlight greenhouse.
III. Precautions for Planting Bowl Lotus
1. Bowl lotus is delicate and tender, so at noon in summer it should avoid the scorching sun and be moved to a shaded place. Also, the time for indoor flower viewing and display should not be too long, not exceeding 3 days at a time.
2. Bowl lotus most taboo being cared for in a shaded place, and even more so, it cannot be kept indoors like an indoor foliage plant. With insufficient light, the lotus leaves will grow leggy and lose greenness, and cannot form buds. When cultivating bowl lotus in a courtyard, the flower pot must be placed in a spot with sufficient light or on the outer edge of a south-facing balcony. During the flowering season, if it needs to be brought indoors for viewing, you can take it in early and out late, or in late and out early, and it should still maintain a certain amount of light each day. Bowl lotus needs relatively sufficient light, but it also dislikes sudden bright sunshine after rain.
The above isbowl lotus planting methodsintroduced. We hope it is helpful for everyone in cultivating bowl lotus. Bowl lotus blooming in midsummer brings you a poetic and picturesque feeling.