Growing Lotus outside the pond

Do I Need A Pond To Grow Lotus?

Most people think they must have a pond to plant a sacred lotus, the truth of the matter, is that you can grow lotus outside the pond, in a flower bed or on your deck or patio! Sacred lotus do not need a pond or moving water to grow and bloom.

What You Will Need

 1.) You will need a container above or below ground.

2.)You will need a planting medium of part clay-part topsoil

3.) Access to water

4.) Sacred Lotus tuber

5.) Fertilizer

6.) Full sun

We recommend that you start your sacred lotus in the month of May. This will allow it enough time for growth and maturity to survive the winter. 

If you would like to grow your lotus in a container in your flower bed, you must dig a hole a little larger than the container, then set the container in the ground. (You will need a container without holes) The following instructions are for container gardening above or below ground.

Instructions              

1.) Choose a wide shallow container for your lotus (the size of container will depend on the size of the            lotus specimen that you purchase)

2.) Add loam and topsoil to your container

3.) Plant the lotus tuber in the soil, keeping growth tips exposed and being careful not to break or                  damage the growth tips

4.) Add water above the soil (water depth will depend on the size of the lotus specimen that you                   purchase)

5.) Place container OUTSIDE in FULL SUN! In a week or two your sacred lotus tuber will have sent up coin leaves to the surface of the water. DO NOT fertilize at this point. 

6.) Once your coin leaves have turned to aerial leaves growing out of the water, you may fertilize your           lotus. Use half the recommended dosage until your lotus is established. We recommend Landon             Granular Fertilizer or PondTabs+Humates. We recommend that you fertilize every three weeks               during the growing/blooming season (June through August)

This Exquisite of Bowl lotus is only 12 inches tall, the container we buried in the garden and added water almost every other day. We kept 2 inches of water above the soil in the pot. It is in full sun, the pot is 16 inches across and 7 inches deep. you would need a much larger container for a larger lotus as lotus use a lot of water. This size pot is great for the little lotus outside of a pond. You can see she is full of buds and ready to bloom!

Please Note: 

The lotus you purchase from PondLotus.com are true to name and certified by the registrar Dr. Diake Tian 

Be assured that the sacred lotus that you order from pondlotus.com will arrive with at least two growth tips

Pond lotus tubers can be stored in the crisper of your refrigerator until proper planting time in your area

Pond lotus can be over-wintered in their planting containers in moderate temperatures and colder climates. The tubers must stay protected in the pond or in the ground and remain under water a few inches below the freeze line, not at the bottom of the pond.  Please see our article for overwintering pond lotus for complete instructions 

Exquisite of Bowl Lotus next to soda can by Laura Bancroft

When using decorative pots / bowls, we  put the planted lotus in a solid plastic pot, then place the planted lotus (in the plastic pot) inside the slightly larger decorative container. This makes it easier if you want to place the lotus in a shallow pond for winter, it is easy to remove the plastic pot from the decorative container and keep that decorative container empty over the winter without disturbing the plant, now safe in the pond.