Pink Butterfly Lotus
Plant Description
Pink Butterfly Lotus is unusual, unique and easy to grow! Pink Butterfly Lotus has an amazing, plate-like flower that graces this lovely lotus in shades of pink and cream with sunny yellow receptacles. Petal tips are kissed in pink! The habitat is different that most lotus as it grow horizontally rather that upright. The plant prefers a wide, shallow container and shallow water above the soil. Pink Butterfly Lotus looks beautiful when planted in front of larger, taller lotus as it will give a three dimensional look to your water garden feature. Pink Butterfly grows to 3 feet tall when planted in wide, shallow containers
Exquisite of Bowl-Dwarf-Medium/Versicolor/Semi-Double
Planting Instructions
Plant in a wide (11 - 30 inches wide or wider) container using loam soil. Dig a trench in the soil and place your lotus tuber in the trench with the growth tips facing upwards. Be careful not to break or damage the growth tips. Cover the tuber with two or three inches of soil, leaving the growth tips exposed. Carefully add two or three inches of water over the soil. Place your container in a sunny location outdoors. (8 hours of sunlight per day) In a week or two you should have coin leaves growing on the surface of the water, in a week or two after that you should have aerial leaves growing out of the water. Once you have aerial leaves, you may fertilize your lotus.
Fertilizing Instructions
Wait until your lotus has at least two aerial leaves to begin to fertilize your lotus. Lotus are very heavy feeders! We recommend for ease of use, optimum growth and best bloom! Simply press two fertilizer tabs into the soil around the roots of your lotus, being careful not to damage the roots. Do this once a month during the growing/blooming season (June through September). 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!
