The Lotus - The Plant, the Myth, the LEGEND
Lotus plants can be found with white, yellow, and pink colored flowers. The floating leaves and Lotus flowers have long stems that contain air spaces to maintain their buoyancy. The plant spreads its roots firmly in the mud and sends out long stems that form large rounded leaves. These leaves are hydrostatic and repel water (very cool to see in person!). Lotus flowers are always raised above the water surface. The Lotus flower will open in the morning, and the petals will fall later in the day.
The Lotus symbolizes grace, purity, beauty, majesty, fertility, wealth, serenity, and knowledge. The Lotus is one of the eight auspicious signs of Buddhism. The eight petal Lotuses used in Buddhist mandalas represent cosmic harmony. The thousand petal Lotuses are said to represent spiritual illumination, and a bud symbolizes potential. In Egyptian mythology the Lotus is associated with the sun- this is because they bloom by day and close by night. The Egyptians even believed that the lotus gave birth to the sun.
More Lotus Facts!
The Lotus flowers, seeds, young leaves and rhizomes are all edible. In Asia, the petals are sometimes used for garnish. The large leaves can be used as a wrap for food.
Various parts of the Lotus are also used in traditional Asian herbal medicine.
The Lotus fruits are a conical pod with seeds contained in holes in the pod.
When lotus seeds are ripe, they become loose in the pod. The pod then tips down towards the water and releases the seeds.
When the Lotus flower's petals fall, they are replaced by a flat-topped seed pod divided into compartments (it looks like a bees nest!). These seed pods can be dried out and used for craft projects and floral arrangements.
Lotus Plant Care
The Lotus plant should be fertilized sparingly for the first year (this only applies to plants grown from seed).Too much fertilizer may cause the Lotus foliage to burn. Lotus plants that are established can be fed every 3 or 4 weeks during the growing season. Be careful when inserting fertilizer tabs to avoid damaging any new growth. If you are planting tubers then you will want to start fertilizing when you see the first small coin sized leaves on the surface of the water.
Lotus plants are considered hardy, but it is important to protect the Lotus roots from freezing. Lotus can winter over in the pond if the pond depth is below the freeze line for your area.
Do not cut or damage the stalks/new growth during the growing season. This can allow water to get into the tuber and rot the plant from the inside out. Only trim back dying foliage as it starts to yellow and dry out at the end of the season.
In late fall, the yellowed foliage should be cut off and the plant lowered to the deepest part of the pond. You can also lift the tubers after the plant has died back during the fall. If you lift the tubers, store them in a cool, frost-free location until late spring. To help prevent mildew and rotting you can store them in living sphagnum moss.