Lotus

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 15:51

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Latin name: Nelumbo Family: Lotus Categories: Plants for ponds

Lotus (lat. Nelumbo) Is a perennial plant of the Lotus family. The lotus is native to North Africa and South Asia. In the cultures of some countries, the plant is considered sacred.

Characteristics of culture

Lotus is a herbaceous plant that lives in the aquatic environment. The rhizome is thick, lies in the ground at the bottom of the reservoir. The leaves are funnel-shaped, covered with a waxy coating, reach 50-70 cm in diameter, rise above the water.

Flowers are single, large, multi-petal, up to 30 cm in diameter, raised above the water surface due to long pedicels, can be pink, yellow or cream-colored. Following the movement of the sun, the blooming lotus changes its location. The fruit is a cone-shaped box with numerous nut seeds.

Views

* Nelumbo nucifera (lat. Nelumbo nucifera) - the species is represented by plants with large bright pink flowers with a pleasant aroma. The nut-bearing lotus is propagated by rhizomes, the seed method is not effective.

* Yellow lotus (lat. Nelumbo lutea) - the species is represented by plants with large, fragrant flowers of white or cream color.

Growing conditions

The lotus prefers bodies of water shaded by spreading trees or shrubs. Areas illuminated all day long are not suitable. The optimal places for planting lotus are ponds with slowly flowing or standing water measuring at least 3 * 3 m and a depth of 70-100 cm. The bottom of the reservoirs should be covered with small pebbles, on top of which loamy soil is poured.

Reproduction and planting

Lotuses are propagated by seeds and rhizomes. The first method is less laborious, in addition, plants adapt better to their habitat. Reproduction by rhizomes is not subject to every grower, but this method allows you to see the first lotus flowers a couple of years earlier than when sowing seeds.

Before sowing, seeds need stratification and germination in warm water. Sprouted seeds are sown in a container, the bottom of which is filled with a small layer of garden soil mixed with clay and water. As the plants grow, water is poured into the container. The lotuses are moved to the reservoir only after the threat of spring frosts has passed. Typically grown from lotus seeds, bloom 5-6 years after planting.

When propagated by rhizomes, planting material is harvested in August - September. Collect by hand and very carefully so as not to damage the fibrous roots. Rhizomes are planted in the bottom soil, in pre-dug oblong pits. Under the conditions of keeping, young plants will bloom 2-3 years after planting.

Care

Reservoirs in which lotuses are grown must be regularly cleaned of duckweed. It is not advisable to allow the growth of plants near the coast; a wide strip of clean water should remain between the group of lotuses and the coastline. This is necessary so that the dying parts of the plants do not increase the layer of silt.

Too dense thickets of culture are periodically thinned out. During drought, clean water is added to ponds and other reservoirs, thereby maintaining it at an optimal level for the normal development of plants. Feeding the lotuses is not required.

For the winter, plants do not need special preparation. The water from the reservoirs is preliminarily drained, the rhizomes of the lotuses are covered with fallen leaves, sawdust, moss or foam. For the winter, some growers move the plants to containers with bottom soil, slightly covered with water. Until spring, lotuses are kept in a cool room.

The lotus is resistant to diseases and pests. One of the most dangerous plant pests is aphids, which attack unblown buds. Get rid of aphids with insecticidal preparations.

Application

Lotus is a highly ornamental plant that blooms from the second decade of July to August. Use the culture for landscaping country ponds or swimming pools. Often the lotus is grown in decorative containers as a container plant.

Exquisite and exotic forms of lotuses will perfectly fit into gardens, made in almost all stylistic directions. Plants look especially harmonious in Japanese, Chinese, Moorish, romantic and landscape gardens.

Lotuses are widely used in cooking, cosmetology and folk medicine.