How to Grow Lotus? A Detailed Guide to Management and Care Methods
The flowering lotus is an excellent summer aquatic landscaping plant. It can be used for large-area pond planting to beautify the water surface and purify water quality, or planted in vats and pots and placed in courtyards, pavilions and other places to decorate the environment. It can even be grown in bowls to accent the home.
The flowering lotus is a perennial emergent herbaceous plant of the genus Nelumbo in the family Nymphaeaceae, with a cultivation history of at least 7,000 years in China. In the Yangtze River basin, lotus rhizomes are generally divided and planted around Qingming, and the blooming period of the lotus is from June to August each year. During this period there is much wind and rain, high temperatures and high air humidity, making it a season of frequent pests and diseases, so daily management must be strengthened.
(1) Water management: The lotus is an aquatic plant and cannot do without water throughout its growing period. Summer is the peak growth period for the lotus, and its water demand is also at its greatest, so throughout the summer you must make sure the vats and pots do not dry out. During the plum rain season, rainfall is fairly concentrated, and the water level of pond-grown lotus must not submerge the standing leaves; drain promptly to prevent the lotus from suffering a fatal flooding.
(2) Fertilizer management: The lotus likes fertilizer, but too much fertilizer will burn the seedlings, so apply light fertilizer frequently. Summer is the flowering period of the lotus, and its fertilizer demand is greater than at the seedling stage. If after the flower buds emerge above the water the lotus leaves are yellow and thin with no disease spots, this indicates a lack of fertilizer, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be added promptly; thereafter fertilizer can be applied once every 15 to 20 days (either cake fertilizer or compound fertilizer is fine). For lotus grown in vats and pots, push the fertilizer into the mud at the center of the vat or pot according to its size and let it release slowly.
(3) Light management: The lotus is a long-day plant, and the growing site should have sufficient light. For potted lotus, the spacing between plants and rows should be appropriate; when too crowded, the plants are thinner and taller with fewer standing leaves. When growing lotus at home in containers such as vats, pots and bowls, place the lotus in a spot with ample light or move it outdoors every day to receive light. After the lotus buds, daily light must be no less than 6 hours, otherwise the plants may show yellowing leaves, withered flower buds and similar problems.