How to Grow Lotus From Seed? Growing lotus plants from seed is a joyful experience that is not as tough as you may assume. Growing lotuses from seed will provide you with a large number of plants for a low cost, and there are dozens of distinct lotus species to grow. I’ll show you how to plant and care for seed grown lotus plants in your garden pond in this article.
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), commonly known as Indian Lotus and Sacred Lotus, is a popular and easy-to-grow pond plant that enhances the attractiveness of garden ponds. They prefer full light to grow and blossom, but may tolerate partial shade. Lotus plants come in two varieties: tropical and perennial.
Tropical lotuses grow best in warm tropical or subtropical conditions, although perennial lotus plants can be grown in cooler climes because they fall dormant in the winter and awaken in the spring. Lotus plants bloom in a variety of colours over the summer and fall, including white, pink, red, purple, and yellow.
How to Grow Lotus From Seed?
1. Collecting lotus seeds
You must wait for the seed head to dry before collecting lotus seeds. When the seeds are completely dried, they will become a dark brown colour. Remove the seeds gently and plant them immediately, or store them in a paper envelope until you’re ready to plant them. If you can’t find fresh lotus seeds, you can buy them online or at most garden centres and nurseries.
2. Planting lotus seeds
The best time to plant lotus seeds is late spring, when the temperature is consistently warm and the risk of frost has passed. To aid germination, scrape off a small portion of the seed coating before planting. You can gently peel a few millimetres of the hard seed coating using fine sandpaper or a nail file, but be careful not to damage the seed’s core.
Soak the seeds overnight in warm water before planting them in a container filled with heavy topsoil or clay soil. When you place the pot in the pond, standard potting mix will float to the surface of the water. Fill the pot halfway with water and place it in a warm location. Lotus seeds typically sprout in around 10 days.
3. Caring for seed grown lotus plants
After the seeds have sprouted and the first leaves have shown, place the pot in the pond. Make sure the pot is in full sun.
4. Fertilizing
Fertilizing lotus plants will help them produce an abundance of blossoms, but don’t start fertilising until the plant has a few aerial leaves emerging out of the water. For the best results, use aquatic plant fertiliser tablets that you can push into the soil.
Lotus plants planted from seed typically do not bloom in their first year because the plant’s energy is spent on growing tubers beneath the ground. So there you have it, my advice for producing lotus plants from seed. You may enjoy magnificent lotus blossoms in your backyard pond or water garden with a little patience and the correct conditions.
Also Read: How to Grow Maize at Home?
