Nelumbo Nucifera

Description

Large, luscious, pink tipped waxy petals adorn the famous "Sacred Lotus", a magnificent aquatic perennial. Amazingly, unlike other water lilies, both the flowers and leaves are able to grow upwards above the water for a considerable height, on strong stiff stems, accentuating their amazing beauty! In addition, the sizeable peltate leaves have a remarkable water repellent characteristic that serves as a self-cleaning mechanism, the whole plant making an interesting and noteworthy addition to any pond. Although it has been long-considered a close relative of the Water Lily, a noticeable difference is the large and quite bizarre ice-cream cone shaped receptacle at the centre of the plant. The terminal buds of lotus roots in pools begin to bud when the temperature rises to above 13 degrees Celsius in early April. In mid- and late May, the leaves grow above the water. In early and mid-June, blooming starts. In late June and mid-August, they reach full bloom. In early September, the last flowering period starts. And so, finally, for the botanists amongst you, recent molecular research has surprisingly shown that its closest living relatives are the plane trees and members of the protea family (Proteaceae). Indeed, their isolated phylogenetic position indicates that both Nelumbo and Platanus may be living fossils (the only survivors of an ancient and formerly much more diverse group). So you are now able to grow a Dinosaur plant in your pond! These fresh, extremely rare seeds are very seldom offered.

Sowing Advice

The long-lived seeds have extremely hard coats, one end of which must be carefully filed away with a saw-edged knife or hacksaw to only just expose a tiny bit of the white endosperm before germination. Put the chipped seeds into tepid water, 20-25 C, for two or three days. Seeds will then expand as shown in photograph. Then plant 2cm deep into a pot of damp compost which is standing in a shallow bowl of water at around 20-30 C. The seedling will then slowly begin to emerge. Grow on and re-pot as plants grow, keeping them standing in water. The seedlings do best in high light levels in order to form a tuber that is large enough to plant out in shallow water and survive its first winter. Or....TRICK! Get a small ball of wet clay, push in a small hole, push pre-swollen nicked seed in and throw into pond!

Key Facts