Plant Description on Little Red Chrysanthemum Lotus
Little Red Chrysanthemum Lotus has lots of joyful, red, single-petal flowers throughout the summer. Large, beautiful, bright-red, plate shaped blooms adorn this lotus along with pretty buds and seed pods. The receptacles are bright yellow which makes the red flowers POP! This is a medium sized lotus that does extremely well in containers or in your pond. Make sure it gets plenty of sunlight and a place of honor in your water garden this year! Brilliant-Red/Medium/Single-Petal
Lotus Planting Instructions
Plant your lotus tuber in a wide container using loam soil. Gently add 4 - 5 inches of water above the soil. Place your lotus in a sunny area of your yard or water garden where it will receive 8 - 12 hours of sunlight daily. Replenish water that has evaporated from your lotus containers.
Wait until your lotus has aerial leaves growing out of the water to fertilize. Fertilize your lotus with slow release fertilizer tablets throughout the summer.
Please read our complete instructions on 'How To Grow Your Lotus' in our planting guidelines, included with each lotus purchase!
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!
