Tiny Girl Lotus - Mini

Plant Description

Tiny Girl Lotus is a delightful, little red lotus with adorable little red flowers with tiny, gold receptacles. This pint sized treasure will steal your heart away!  Tiny Girl Lotus is an Exquisite Of Bowl Lotus that may be grown as a mini lotus or as a micro lotus. The green foliage contrasts nicely with this little gem.

Planting Instructions

Plant Tiny Girl Lotus in a six inch wide container or wider using loam soil. Fill your lotus container 2/3 full using loam soil. Dig a shallow trench across the surface of the soil. Place the lotus tuber in the trench, taking care not to damage the growth tips. Cover the tuber with an inch of soil while leaving the growth tips exposed. Add an inch of water above the soil and place in full sun outdoors (8 - 12 hours of sunlight daily). Replace any water that evaporates above the soil as the water may evaporate quickly on hot summer days. DO NOT fertilize until you have aerial leaves growing out of the water.

How And When To Fertilize Your Lotus

Once you have aerial leaves growing out of the water you may begin to fertilize your lotus. Fertilize with Waterlily World Fertilizer Tabs for optimum growth and best bloom! For your first application of fertilizer, simply press one half of a fertilizer tab into the soil near the roots of your lotus, taking care not to damage the roots. Each month thereafter, from June through September you may fertilize with one fertilizer tab every three weeks until early September, making your final fertilizer application in early September. This will allow your lotus to go into dormancy naturally.

*Please see our 'COMPLETE LOTUS GROWING 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!