Pink Lips Lotus (Bare Root)

Fen Chu

Nelumbo nucifera

THIS IS A HUGE LOTUS!

Yum! Edible seeds

With spectacularly beautiful large blooms, ‘Pink Lips’ was hybridized by Daike Tian, PhD, Horticulture, when he was a student at Auburn University. ‘Pink Lips’ needs lots of space but it will be the focal point of your water garden! It is one of our favorite large lotus here at Ten Mile Creek because of its wonderful color and huge, huge flowers! This lotus works well with shorter lotus in front of it for a layered effect. ‘Pink Lips’ produces large pods filled with seeds that provide a tasty treat!

Flower Color: White with Pink
Plant Height: Tall, 48″ and taller
Flower Type: Single or Few, less than 20 petals
Pot Size: 20″ and wider, 12″-18″ deep

Large lotus varieties need large pots! This is a large lotus variety that needs a pot at least 20″ or wider and 12″ or more in depth. Be sure to fill the pot at least half full of soil to help offer support and stability for the leaves. Deeper soil allows them to withstand strong winds and keeps the heavy flowers and buds from falling.

How do I fertilize lotus? When do I fertilize my lotus?

Wait until the lotus plant has several floating leaves or begins to put up aerial leaves before adding fertilizer. Choose a good fertilizer such as Waterlily World Tablets, Pondtabbs or Landon’s Aquatic Fertilizer and follow the instructions carefully. The amount of fertilizer to use is usually based on the size of the pot and the amount of soil in the pot. For example, most of the small tablets are added at a ratio of 1-2 tablets per gallon of soil in the pot. Once the lotus has started to grow vigorously tablets can be added every 3-4 weeks. Stop fertilizing in late summer to allow the lotus to use up all the fertilizer in the pot before going dormant. This encourages the lotus to form better tubers.