Lotus grows at home; how to care? In this article, you will learn how to propagate lotus and germinate and grow it at home. Lotus is a flower of a perennial amphibian shrub. You can see large white or pink flowers in nature only in southern countries. The healthy seeds of this plant are also collected there. Florists have found ways to grow lotus at home, but not everyone can grow and get seeds. The reason for this is the European climate with frigid winters. Therefore, the difficulty in increasing lotus at home is getting used to frost. If this happens, it can argue that the plant’s cultivation will be flawless.
Lotus grows at home method
At home, two methods are used:
- Rhizomes (by dividing them);
- Seeds
Root path
This homemade method is suitable because it indicates accelerated flowering. The roots of the lotus are fleshy and juicy. They resemble bananas in shape. One shoot breaks off and fits into the soil covered with water. The sprout appears quickly, takes root, and you get beautiful flowers in a year or two.
Growing lotus at home with seeds
This growing method is suitable because it allows the plant to better adapt to the European area. Germinated from seeds, the lotus will be more tolerant of both summer drought and coolness.
Lotus seeds ready for propagation look like black nuts. They are just as hard and have a very strong attached pericarp. Their size: height is about 1.5 cm, diameter is 1 cm. For a lotus seed to germinate, it is restricted. It means that it is recorded from the blunt end (where the hole is). You can use coarse sandpaper; it’s faster and easier. It takes about 5 days before the first root appears.
A shallow glass dish is taken, or a plastic cup in the worst case, a little hot water is poured (about + 18-25 degrees), and the seeds are lowered. We are waiting for the first sprout to “hatch.”
After two to three weeks, we are preparing a new container for transplanting the sprouted batch. It can be a pot (for growing indoors) or a summer pond in the country. The container is filled with earth or peat and poured with water. Lotus seeds with established roots and leaves go 7 × 8 cm deep into the ground, and the leaves should be on the surface. As it grows, water is added: it is necessary to ensure that the leaves always float on the surface. If a sprout with leaves is drowned, the young plant dies.
Flowers do not appear as quickly as we would like. Up to this point, the leafy part of the lotus bush floats on the surface. The first beautiful flower can be expected no earlier than after 2, 5-3 years. After the color is released, a seedbox will appear.
Care of sprouts
Proper home care for lotus sprouts is effortless: the main thing is not to forget to add enough water and give a lot of sunlight and heat. You can take the flower out into the open air after all frosts are over. Low temperatures will destroy the lotus.
Capacity selection
Lotus grows well in large pots or open reservoirs (pits). The soil should not be thinner than 3.5 cm for an adult plant, and the water should be about 0.5 meters. If a large and round pot is chosen for planting, the lotus root is placed strictly in the center.
Lotus in winter
In winter, the plant is not watered or disturbed. If the lotus is left in an open pond, it is covered with ordinary foam in late autumn for insulation. At home, part of the water is drained from the pot, isolated with moss, and placed in a dark, cool place but not watered. It is essential to ensure the bush does not grow prematurely in the spring.
Lotus disease
Like most plants on the lotus, there are pests – aphids and caterpillars. You can wash the leaves with water; it is better to do this in the morning. Particular stores sell treatments to treat leaves from diseases and pests.