How to Grow Lotus from Seed

A young lotus plant

The giant leaves and flowers of the lotus are mythical in their beauty. You can grow these amazing, big water plants from seed. It will require patience, but that will be just another lesson to be learned from these plants steeped in spiritual wisdom.

Things You'll Need

• lotus seeds
• file
• small container to soak seeds
• buckets to grow on seedlings
• large tubs
• clay soil
• water

Instructions

1. Order seeds from a reputable dealer. Most retail stores do not sell these seeds so you will need to find them in a catalog or on the internet. You can also harvest fresh seed from a well-dried seed-head from an adult lotus plant.

2. File or sand a little patch of the dark brown seed cover off until a whitish color is seen beneath. Be persistent, these seed coats are tough!

3. Soak the seeds in a small container just covered with water. Change the water carefully several times a day until the seed splits and a long green shoot grows out. They average about 5 days before you see the tiny green sprout start. Then move the new sprouts into bright light.

4. Once the green shoot starts growing it will lengthen very fast. When it is one or two inches long, gently place the sprouted seed in several inches of clay soil at the bottom of a large container like a pail or a plastic gallon milk jug with the top cut off. You can let the little seedling actually grow bigger, but the bigger it gets before planting, the harder it will be to move without damage.

5. Allow the little plant to grow for the season and form small floating leaves. The water level should be kept at least 4 - 6 inches above the top of the soil level.

6. Over-winter the young lotus in its water-filled container away from heavy frosts. Often plants will go dormant for a while so don't think it's dead. They can be late to start re-growth in the spring so be patient. The water needs to be consistently warm to wake them up.

7. When spring growth allows the plant to form at least four good sized leaves floating on the water surface or the lotus starts to send up aerial leaves (like umbrellas) transfer the whole plant (roots still buried in the clay soil) carefully to really big containers and fertilize. After a short adjustment period, the lotus plants should start growing enthusiastically. You may be lucky and be rewarded with a big beautiful bloom by the end of the season. Or you may have to wait one more year. (Remember it will go dormant in the winter again.) But when your lotus finally blooms, you will know it was all worth the wait!

Resources

• Gardening and growing information
• Landscape ideas