Plant Doctor Archive

Water Gardens — Growing lotus plants

I HAVE tried to grow lotus plants on several occasions and always seem to fail. Is there a secret?

Lotus are notoriously tricky things to grow. This is odd because, once established, they do so well that they can become a pest! Barerooted plants are available early in the season, but it's very easy to damage the growing tip (and if you do, they will never grow). Potted plants are a better proposition - although dearer.

Lotus plants do not like to be planted too deep and are truly tropical plants, so the more sun and heat, the better. They also dislike wind and are gross feeders so feed, feed, feed for the best results!

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.