Carolina Queen Lotus has MAJESTIC, 10-12" flowers that are a rich-warm pink with a blush of orange.
Absolutely spectacular! Bright-yellow receptacles and stamens add a sunny touch to Carolina Queen Lotus, a tall, pink, single-petal lotus.
Tall/Pink/Single-Petal
Plant your Carolina Queen Lotus Tuber in a large, wide, container with loam soil (topsoil mixed with sand, will hold together if you grab it) and 6-8" of water over top of pot.
Plant in full sun and fertilize once you have 2 aerial leaves standing above the water. Fertilize monthly with fertilizer tabs. Since this a large lotus, some customers will consider this lotus specimen as a desirable, edible vegetable.
What Is Loam Soil?
Loam soil is a good mixture of Topsoil and Sand
If you are lucky enough to have good topsoil in your backyard, by all means, use your topsoil. All you will have to do is add fertilizer. If you are not so lucky--and your backyard is sand or heavy red or yellow clay, you can mix up a batch of loam soil.
You can create your own loam soil by mixing these two ingredients together
- 2/3 Inorganic Topsoil (Little or no organic material added)
- 1/3 Pool Filter Sand
Mix together thoroughly with a little water. Your soil should clump when squeezed. If your soil is mixed properly, it will not muddy your pond water.
You can purchase inexpensive bags of inexpensive / poor Topsoil at Lowes or Home-Depot. Good soil clumps together as a ball in your hand with only a little moisture.
Don't buy brands like Scott's or Miracle-Gro, as they will contain too much organic matter that can foul your water. Buy an unbranded bag of topsoil instead.
You can purchase Pool Filter Sand at any store that sells pool supplies.
Loam soil is well suited for all aquatic plants (except oxygenators). Oxygenators rarely need to be planted, just anchored in the substrate or in a container filled with sand or 1/8 inch pea gravel.
Sand holds little water but does allow for aeration and drainage.
Some DO's and DON'TS regarding Aquatic Planting Soil
DO NOT use potting soils ( as they are too light and will float right out of the pot). Potting Soil has organic material that will rot and foul your water!
DO NOT add too much composted material (as it is too rich in organic matter and it will ferment underwater and destroy the ecology of your pond).
DO NOT use 100% calcined clay as there is no nutritional value in calcined clay.
DO NOT add rocks, stones or pebbles to the top of your planting container as this will inhibit the growth of your plants. Plants do not grow in rocks and stones in nature!
DO NOT purchase API Aquatic Planting Media or Microbe-lift Aquatic Planting Media as these products are NOT suitable for waterlilies, lotus or most other pond plants. They are suitable for submerged grasses ONLY!
If you are planting this lotus as a vegetable rather than an ornamental flower, it must be planted in a large shallow pond and tubers must reach 2-4" in diameter, for edible consumption. Go to our 'How To Grow Lotus As An Edible Vegetable' page for complete instructions on growing lotus tubers as a vegetable crop.
