Apricot Pink 13 Lotus
Customer Favorite!

 Plant Description

Apricot Pink Lotus has rich, full, carnation- pink blooms edged in darker- pink, giving the lotus flower depth and interest. Wide, flat outer petals give this lotus flower nice form and drape--while shorter, ruffled inner petals add interest. Apricot Pink Lotus plants add beauty and grace to your water garden feature, in your pond or in pots on your patio, deck or balcony.

 Pink

Dwarf-Medium

Multi-Petal

Lotus Planting Directions / Dwarf - Medium height

1. Use a 14 inch wide, or wider, no-holes container filled 2/3 full with loam soil.
2. Dig a trench on the surface of the soil and place your lotus tuber in the trench, Take care not to damage the growth tips.
3. Cover all but the growth tips with soil, leaving the growth tips exposed.
4. Fill or Submerge your container with just two to four inches of water above the surface of the soil.  
5. Place in full sun outdoors, 8 - 12 hours of sunlight daily, as lotus plants need lots of sun! 

When to Fertilize Lotus 

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. 

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 ever 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.

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.   

 When to Re-pot a Lotus
You will want to re-pot your lotus plants every two years in spring BEFORE they break dormancy as they will generally run out of soil and become overgrown after two seasons. Only the white tubers in the root mass need replanted, the old black thin rotting roots are no longer alive or growing.