How to grow the lotus flower

One of the easiest ways to get a lotus plant is to purchase seeds at a garden store. To plant them, it is usually recommended open the shell slightly outer part being careful not to damage the inner part. This can be achieved by simply scraping off this shell with a soft metal file, for example the one used for fingernails.

Once the seed is ready, it should be placed in a water container and wait a few days until it germinates. It is best to germinate several seeds and then choose those that are in the best condition.

Once the seeds have germinated and have reached a size of approximately 8 cm, it will be time to transplant them to their final pot. As the lotus is a water flower, we will need a suitable container for this type of plant. The first thing to bear in mind is that it will be necessary to have a pot without drainage hole. In this pot, we will place a quantity of special soil for aquatic plants (if we used the usual one, it would float due to the high amount of organic materials it has) and we will fill 30% of the pot. The rest of the pot will be the space dedicated to water. Next, we will place the germinated seeds at the bottom of the pot, without burying them too much, although we can help ourselves with a little soil to fix them to the bottom of the pot.

After a few months, the lotus flower plant will have developed into an adult plant. However, it is quite common for lotus plants do not give flowers during the first year. After that time, the characteristics and much appreciated lotus flowers will appear.

Another option to have a lotus flower at home is to make it develop from a rhizomeeither underground root, which can also be purchased at many garden stores. In this case, it will be necessary place the rhizome in water for a few days until it germinates. It is important to change the water frequently, which will help prevent the rhizome from rotting.

Once the rhizome has germinated, it will be time to move it to the pot. In this case, it will be necessary to have a pot with the same characteristics as when the lotus is planted from seed. That is, it will be necessary to have pot without drainagethat it has a part of river land, and, in addition, that it also has enough capacity to have enough water.

In this casewe will place the rhizome directly on the ground and we will fix it to the surface with the soil itself or, if preferred, with some light stones that prevent the rhizome from floating. Little by little, the rhizome will grow and, in a few months, you will have an adult lotus plant that, in addition, does will be able to give flowers from the first year.

One of the most important aspects to take into account when caring for a lotus plant is that it is a plant that does not tolerate the cold well. Therefore, it is important that the water never drops below 21 degrees otherwise the plant could die. Likewise, another of the most important aspects that must be taken into account is that it is a plant that needs at least 5 hours of direct light when she is an adult. In this way, it is important that it is in well-lit outdoor or indoor places, such as near a window with direct light.

Finally, another aspect that must be taken into account is conserve water and do it in the best possible conditions. In this sense, it is essential change the water frequently, which will prevent the lotus plant from getting sick or insects or parasites from appearing that negatively affect the lotus. In addition, in the following Green Ecology article we explain how to make natural insecticides for plants.

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