How exciting! I'm wanting to add some lotus to my garden pond as well as my duck pond. If you did it all over again, would you again plant seeds or would you buy the plant?

Cheers!
M

These seeds came from one of my pond lotus that I bought. I like the fact that I could get them to sprout (it is a bit labor intensive) Lotus seed will last practicaly forever so I still have plenty to share or sprout if I want.

I'm a novice ponder. Would you recommend the process to a novice? I have a couple of water troughs in our receiving pen that don't really get used much except when loading and unloading cattle. I went ahead and used them as my propagating tubs. No pumps, no power, just still water on the west side of our barn that pretty much gets unadulterated sunlight and heat. Would a spot like that be good for raising lotus?

Of course, I can always buy a plant somewhere instead of ordering seeds - it just seems that plants would be harder to ship. I really need to locate a local water gardener who will let me buy some propagations off of them!

Cheers
M

We were all novice at one time or another, I am still learning :) The labor intensive part comes from scarifying the seeds so water can enter and start the sprouting process.
Items needed: A metal file,(even a nail file will do) and a pair of pliers. Hold the seed with the pliers and use the file to file away the outer seed coat untill you see a creamy white spot, then place them in a glass of very warm water (1 to a glass) and put them all in a sunny window and change the water once a day.. within 7 days you will see sprouts and from there they will grow very fast. once you see white roots, that will be the time to plant them up.

Items needed to plant: clean sand, medium rocks, pea gravel, planting substrate and as large of a watertight planting pot that you can get.(they can be invasive so you will want them contained).
How to plant: put the medium rocks in the bottom of the container and put whatever soil substrate you choose over the rocks (I dont have any animals that drink out of the tubs so I just used Miracle Grow potting mix). Cover that layer with about 1/2 inch of the clean sand (I use sand because I have less seed rot that way). Make a hole with your finger and place the seedling in and cover all the roots well, then put the pea gravel over that layer to keep the soil from escaping when placed in water leaving just the tip of the seedcase uncovered, then put it all in the water trough and cover them with enough water so the leaves float ( eventually you will want to have at least 6 in. of water over them) The side of the barn in the water troughs sounds like an ideal place for them to grow! Keep in mind that you will want to fertilize them at least once a month and you will have to divide them every 2 years... these things do grow very fast!

Here is a link that might be useful: A site that really helped me learn

Almost forgot, if you would like to contact me @ tucktuck425@hotmail.com I would be glad to send you some seeds so you can put your new knowledge to the test, once planted they grow fast and need to be divided every other year so I have plenty for my little ponds :)
Beverly