El lotus, whose scientific name is Nelumbo nucifera, is an aquatic plant whose flowers are of extraordinary beauty. And the mere fact that they can be kept in pots (buckets, ponds, ...) only increases the ornamentality of this plant, don't you think?
If you want to know how to germinate and later have a lotus in your garden, keep reading.
How can I germinate the seeds?
The lotus seeds are oval, about 1cm long, dark brown in color. To achieve a higher percentage of germination (and, at the same time, so that they germinate faster) what is done is sand them a bit with sandpaper. As soon as you see that it changes color (to a slightly lighter brown), stop.
Then They can be put in a glass, tupperware, plate, ... with water. The depth is indifferent, since as soon as they germinate they will be transferred to a larger pot. If the seed is fresh, and if it is in spring or summer, we will see that the first leaves begin to emerge after 7-14 days.
Preparing the material
Now that we have our lotuses sprouted, we can move on to the next step. For this we need:
- Tiesto where we will have our lotus. I chose an agricultural bucket, it is inexpensive and made of a material that can be drilled (we will see shortly what we want holes for) more easily. But actually anything works. The wider it is, the more leaves will be produced by the plant.
- Scissors with a more or less fine point, to make the holes in the pot.
- Clay. Why mud and not garden substrate? The substrate mixes easily with the water, while the mud stays inside the bucket.
- Water
Step by step
1.- Make holes. If we are going to have our lotus outside all year round, it will be advisable to make some holes in the bucket to prevent the water from running out when it rains.
2.- Fill halfway with dirt / mud.
3.- Fill with water, and we introduce our lotus inside (it is more advisable to put a lotus in each pot). We must plant the germinated seed, covering said seed with soil.
4.- OPTIONAL: In the event that you have dogs that like to do some mischief around the garden, you can put a grid or a henhouse net protecting the bucket. You can take advantage of the holes to hold the net or grid with wire.
Within more or less 15-20 days, you can fertilize a little (very little) with liquid fertilizer.
After a very short time, we will see how the leaves emerge on the water. And later, if the pot is not too small, will bloom. And remember that if you don't just like the pot you have chosen, you can always give it your personal touch by painting it with spray paint (sold in hardware stores).