American Three Color Lotus

American Three Color Lotus

Lotus Plant Description  

American Three Color Lotus has dreamy, creamy -white petals with whisper-pink tips and yellow-green stamens. A pleasing and elegant color combination on this lotus flower that is complemented nicely with the medium green foliage.  Lotus plants make beautiful additions to your water garden feature and are very pleasing to the eye!

Dwarf/Versicolor/Single-Petal

Lotus Planting Directions 

1.  Take a 14 - 20 inch wide or wider, container filled with loam soil (2/3topsoil mixed with 1/3 pool filter sand adding a little water as you mix  (this mix should hold together if you grab it). 
2.  Dig a trench with your hand on the surface of the soil. Now gently place the tuber in the trench and carefully cover the sections between the growth tips with soil. 
3.  You may place ONE single stone between two growth tips to prevent the tuber from floating once the pot is submerged in the pond or when you add water to your container garden..
4.  Fill or Submerge your container with just two to four inches of water above the surface of the soil or growth tips. 
5.  Place in full sun, outdoors  as you as lotus need 8 - 12 hours of strong sunlight daily). Lotus need LOTS of sun and room to bloom. 

DO NOT fertilize lotus at all when planting lotus or they will burn. 

Many gardeners do not plant their lotus in adequately wide containers and get few flowers or only leaves because of the cramped growing space. The more room a lotus has, and leaves the plant produces, the more sugar those leaves can produce.  This will ensure that the plant is producing the maximum number of blooms. 

How to Fertilize Lotus Plants

Fertilize only AFTER you have established plant with 2 standing aerial leaves.
Fertilize monthly with pond tabs. The first one or two treatments can be a small dose of only one or two tablets, as to not burn the plant. We recommend Waterlily World Fertilizer Tabs for optimum growth, best bloom and ease of use! 
As you get more leaves standing high above the surface on a dwarf or medium plant, you can increase fertilizer to 4 pond tablets or more every two to three weeks as you see fit, but be sure not to overfeed a lotus. You can always test the plant by giving it two tablets per week. Never push the tablets into a root and break the root, gently choose a spot away from the root. The roots grow at the very edge of the containers, round and round like a wreath.

When To Re-Pot Your Lotus

You can re-pot your lotus every couple of years, using the new tubers at the bottom of the container.

*Please see our 'Complete Lotus Planting Guide' included with your lotus purchase!

What Is Loam Soil?

Loam soil is a good mixture of Topsoil and Sand

If you are lucky enough to have good topsoil in your backyard, by all means, use your topsoil. All you will have to do is add fertilizer. If you are not so lucky--and your backyard is sand or heavy red or yellow clay, you can mix up a batch of loam soil.

 You can create your own loam soil by mixing these two ingredients together

• 2/3  Inorganic Topsoil (Little or no organic material added)
• 1/3  Pool Filter Sand

 Mix together thoroughly with a little water. Your soil should clump when squeezed. If your soil is mixed properly, it will not muddy your pond water.

You can purchase inexpensive bags of Topsoil at Lowes or Home-Depot. Good soil clumps together as a ball in your hand with only a little moisture. 

Don't buy brands like Scott's or Miracle-Gro, as they will contain too much organic matter that can foul your water. Buy an unbranded bag of topsoil instead.

You can purchase Pool Filter Sand at any store that sells pool supplies.

Loam soil is well suited for all aquatic plants (except oxygenators). Oxygenators rarely need to be planted, just anchored in the substrate or in a container filled with sand or 1/8  inch pea gravel.

Sand holds little water but does allow for aeration and drainage.

Some DO's and DON'TS regarding Aquatic Planting Soil  

DO NOT use potting soils ( as they are too light and will float right out of the pot). Potting Soil has organic material that will rot and foul your water!

DO NOT add too much composted material (as it is too rich in organic matter and it will ferment underwater and destroy the ecology of your pond).

DO NOT use 100% calcined clay as there is no nutritional value in calcined clay.

DO NOT add rocks, stones or pebbles to the top of your planting container as this will inhibit the growth of your plants. Plants do not grow in rocks and stones in nature!

DO NOT purchase API Aquatic Planting Media or Microbe-lift Aquatic Planting Media as these products are NOT suitable for waterlilies, lotus or most other pond plants. They are suitable for submerged grasses ONLY!

Bog Plants (Wetland Plants) prefer poor, acidic soil.

The texture of loam soil will retain nutrients and water as well as bind to the nutrients in your fertilizer, where they can deliver these nutrients to your plants. The Pool Filter Sand will allow some drainage and aeration Once you have created loam soil for your pond plants, you are ready to plant waterlilies, lotus and marginal plants in your water garden or pond. Enjoy!