Pond Plant Profile: Lotus Plant Nelumbo Lutea (2024)

FAQs

Pond Plant Profile: Lotus Plant Nelumbo Lutea? ›

Fragrant, showy flowers and huge (up to 2' across), round leaves make American lotus a very attractive plant. It is a pond plant and prefers to grow in about 3 feet of water. However, its long-lived seeds and creeping rhizomes make it terribly aggressive in shallow ponds.

Aerial leaves and flowers may held as high as six feet above the water's surface, well away from the menacing koi. The lotus leaves also can provide beneficial shade for koi. Finally, lotus may also be grown in a container next to pond, safely away from the koi yet providing a flash of green to soften the pondscape.

Winter hardy to USDA Zone 4 as long as the roots do not freeze (i.e., water does not freeze down to the roots). For water gardens or small ponds, plant roots in large containers or planting baskets with up to 24” of water covering the crowns.

Dig an 8 to 24 in (20 to 61 cm) deep hole for the pond. A depth of about 8 in (20 cm) is fine if you live in a warm climate and are only growing lotus plants in the pond. However, if you plan on keeping fish in the pond, dig a hole with a minimum depth of 18 in (46 cm).

Establish by seeds or root divisions in shallow water where aggressive tendency will not be problematic (plant is known to spread 50' in one season). In large areas, roots can be secured directly in the mud, preferably rich loam, and plants will spread to fill the space.

There are lots of fishes in a wild lotus pond. It is usually deep enough, if in South East Asia, to have gouramis, eel tail catfish, murrels, assorted barbs, even bettas. It might also be over run with small feral tilapias. Fishing for me in lotus ponds are the most challenging.

Did you know, during the daylight hours the algae and other aquatic plants (waterlily, lotus, floating plants) provide oxygen to your pond? This is a benefit to other aquatic creatures, such as fish.

Lotus prefers a sunny or semi-shaded warm position in the garden and needs well draining soil. They are drought tolerant but need to be protected from the frost.

This inhibits native aquatic vegetation, wildlife, and recreational opportunities. While not currently widespread in Florida, due to its invasive potential it should be removed if found outside of cultivation.

Once cooler weather has arrived, it is time for you to begin to ready your lotus for winter. Lotus are hardy and go dormant in cooler weather with less sunlight. If your pond does not freeze solid, your lotus will go dormant and will be fine left where they are.

How to put lotus in a pond? ›

Planting Lotus

Using a garden soil with a low organic content—a mix of sand and clay is best — plant the tuber about four inches deep, leaving room for the soil to push upward as the tubers and runners fill the container. Set the container in the pond so that the top of the soil is two to four inches under water.

The water lily petal is pointed and creates a star-like bloom; the lotus petal is more rounded, sometimes ruffly. Lily flowers last longer, up to two weeks, then wilt and fall beneath the water; the lotus has a significant seed pod that continues to grow above the water after the inflorescence has passed.

Like most aquatic plants, its main stem and roots are submerged in water and frequently reach the earth at the pool's bottom, while its blooms blossom on the surface. Many other properties of the plant allow it to live under the severe conditions of the water.

Although American lotus regularly produces seeds, it spreads mainly through its thick rhizomes that grow along the pond bottom.

Range. The native distribution of the species is Minnesota to Oklahoma, Florida, Mexico, Honduras, and the Caribbean. It was apparently distributed northwards in the United States by Native Americans who carried the plant with them as a food source.

The peacefulness of these ponds can help to reduce anxiety and promote a sense of inner peace. 3. One of the key benefits of visiting a lotus pond is the opportunity to practice meditation. Meditation has long been recognized as a powerful tool for relaxation and self-reflection.

Lotus can help to consume ammonia, nitrates and elements which will protect the fish. To get the oxygen level in water you need to have flowing water or air supply.

If in a pond there are 40 Lotus plants last year and through reproduction 16 new plants are added, taking the current population to 56, then the birth rate will be (56−40)/40=0.4.