Lips Red Lotus
Plant Description
Lips Red Lotus will add some drama and excitement to your water garden this year! Amazing rich color on the multi-petal blooms of this extraordinary lotus specimen. Flowers on the Lips Red Lotus are large, showy, and drenched in color! Lips Red Lotus will be the centerpiece in your pond or water garden. Lips Red Lotus looks great when placed in containers on your deck or patio. Lips Red Lotus grows 3 - 4 feet tall in wide, shallow containers.
Medium-Tall/Brilliant Red/Multi-Petal
Planting Instructions
Plant in a wide (24 - 48 inches or wider) container using loam soil. Dig a trench in the surface of the soil and place the lotus tuber in the trench with the growth tips pointing up. Cover with two or three inches of soil while leaving the growth tips exposed. Add a few inches of water above the surface of the soil and place your container in full sun. Lotus need 8 hours of sunlight daily. In a week or so you will have coin leaves on the surface of the water, a week or so after that you will have aerial leaves growing out of the water. Once you have aerial leaves, it is time to fertilize your lotus.
Fertilizing Instructions
Fertilize your lotus by simply pressing 4 to 6 fertilizer tabs into the soil near the roots of your lotus, being careful not to damage the roots. Do this each month from June through September, as this is the growing/ blooming season for lotus. Lotus are very heavy feeders, we recommend for optimum growth and best bloom. Your lotus should grow and bloom the very first year!
What Is Loam Soil?
Loam soil is a good mixture of Topsoil and Sand
If you are lucky enough to have good topsoil in your backyard, by all means, use your topsoil. All you will have to do is add fertilizer. If you are not so lucky--and your backyard is sand or heavy red or yellow clay, you can mix up a batch of loam soil.
You can create your own loam soil by mixing these two ingredients together
- 2/3 Inorganic Topsoil (Little or no organic material added)
- 1/3 Pool Filter Sand
Mix together thoroughly with a little water. Your soil should clump when squeezed. If your soil is mixed properly, it will not muddy your pond water.
You can purchase inexpensive bags of inexpensive / poor Topsoil at Lowes or Home-Depot. Good soil clumps together as a ball in your hand with only a little moisture.
Don't buy brands like Scott's or Miracle-Gro, as they will contain too much organic matter that can foul your water. Buy an unbranded bag of topsoil instead.
You can purchase Pool Filter Sand at any store that sells pool supplies.
Loam soil is well suited for all aquatic plants (except oxygenators). Oxygenators rarely need to be planted, just anchored in the substrate or in a container filled with sand or 1/8 inch pea gravel.
Sand holds little water but does allow for aeration and drainage.
Some DO's and DON'TS regarding Aquatic Planting Soil
DO NOT use potting soils ( as they are too light and will float right out of the pot). Potting Soil has organic material that will rot and foul your water!
DO NOT add too much composted material (as it is too rich in organic matter and it will ferment underwater and destroy the ecology of your pond).
DO NOT use 100% calcined clay as there is no nutritional value in calcined clay.
DO NOT add rocks, stones or pebbles to the top of your planting container as this will inhibit the growth of your plants. Plants do not grow in rocks and stones in nature!
DO NOT purchase API Aquatic Planting Media or Microbe-lift Aquatic Planting Media as these products are NOT suitable for waterlilies, lotus or most other pond plants. They are suitable for submerged grasses ONLY!
