Why can't I find Cut Lotus Flowers (or Waterlilies) in the United States?

We get calls every week throughout the year with people in desperate search for lotus and waterlily flowers.

Cut lotus flowers are usually not available in North America for events and photography, due to the self-healing, self-sealing stems.

A cut lotus flower will only last for a few hours or up to a day, once you have cut it from the stem. The lotus bloom is not like a rose or tulip which will last many days when cut. To enjoy the sacred lotus as a cut flower, you must grow them--or obtain them locally.

This photo was taken at the Alabama growing facility in the Summer of 2015. It takes a number of plants to get this many flowers in one day! At the farm each flower is cut off all summer long. This prevents any new seed crosses from creating any unnamed new varieties. All the stock is grown and multiplied from root division.

In Thailand and other countries, they are grown year round. Lotus blooms are often cut daily outside temples where they are readily available. You can usually find them there almost all year long, but they become more expensive in winter when there are far fewer flowers.

If you grow them yourself here in the United states you can enjoy them from July to September. In the south, perhaps just a bit earlier and later. They do not bloom each and every day, so you will need a lot of plants if you want a daily supply. Some lotus can give you dozens of blooms per season and they do make beautiful short lived, arrangements.