Pink Lily, Hybrid Lotus Plant

Listing ID #4312919

At home in both formal and naturalistic settings, lilies also most take readily to containers. They all make wonderful cut flowers.
By carefully blending early, mid-season, and late varieties into your garden, you will enjoy their bewitching blooms and seductive scents from spring through frost
Asiatic lilies are the earliest to bloom and the easiest to grow. Hybrids come in pure white, pinks, vivid yellows, oranges, and reds; heights are from one to six feet. Intense breeding has erased much of the Asiatics fragrance, but in spite of their lack of perfume, they are a favorite with floral arrangers.
Oriental hybrids bloom in mid- to late summer, just when Asiatic lilies are beginning to fade. From tiny two-footers to towering eight-foot-tall giants, Orientals are always a striking choice (the shorter ones are great for patio beds or container gardens). Adored for their intoxicating fragrance that intensifies after dark, Oriental lilies produce masses of huge white, pink, red, or bi-color blooms. They make wonderful cut flowers that will fill even the largest of rooms with their spicy scents.
Care:
Our plants have been dipped in an antiseptic/anti-parasitical that is completely non-toxic.
Your lotus will do best in good quality soil, though they will grow in pure sand or gravel. Some garden centers sell water plant potting mix. Gravel at the bottom of your pot will help sink the planting container and one-inch gravel at the top will keep foraging koi out. Be sure your pot or soil has no insecticide/herbicide residues.
Unpack your lotus carefully and pay particular attention to the fragile growing, pointed, tip. Leave the growing tip just above soil level and be careful not to break it off. (Do not worry, another will grow if you do!) Elevate the pot in the pond to expose the growing tip to sunlight, and, as the lotus grows, you may lower the pot until you reach the desired depth (1 to 3 feet) Lotus does exceptionally well in a bog too!
If your pond has little available nitrogen (few fish or abundant plant life), fertilize when the lotus produces leaves. Slow release tablets made for ponds are great, but you can use 15-15-15 or similar by wrapping it in some newspaper and inserting it just under the soil level. If the lotus is planted in the pond bottom mud or if you are using the plant for biofiltration and nitrate removal, supplemental fertilization is usually unnecessary.
The more direct sunlight, the healthier the plant and the more blooms you will get! There should be a minimum of four hours direct sunlight. Optimum temperature is between 70º and 90º F.
As winter approaches, you will see the leaves die and the tuber will go dormant. Unless your pond freezes to the tuber level, your lotus will survive and wake next Spring. If you think the pond bottom will freeze, then dig the tubers out and put them indoors (33-45 Deg F) or even in your refrigerator! Plant in the Spring when the water warms to at least 50 Deg F.
Some people may think lotus and waterlilies are the same, but they are two distinct water plants. Waterlilies (Nymphaea spp.) have leaves and flowers that float on the surface of the water and long roots under the water. The leaves of lotus plants are at the top of tall, sturdy stalks held high above the muddy soil they grow in. Both plants have large cup-shaped blossoms. The two lotus species, the native American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) and the Asian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), have similar needs. Water lotus is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 10, and has an aggressive growth habit, although it has not been classified as invasive.
Planting Lotus Seeds
Spent lotus flower heads form unusual, attractive seed cones filled with large brown seeds with hard seed coats. Collect the seeds when the cones have dried, but do not wait too long or the wind will shake the seeds out of the cones. File the hard seeds slightly to expose the white inside, but do not damage the seed or it wont be able to sprout. Another way to deal with the hard seed coat for better germination is by soaking the seeds in warm water for a couple of days, then removing the outer seed coat. You will see the white seed and possibly the beginnings of the sprout. Plant the seeds in containers or in the muddy water along your pond by pushing them into the wet soil about 1 inch and patting the soil down firmly.
In Containers
Lotus has been grown in bowls and pots since ancient times. Even the tallest lotus grows well in a large container as long as it has the right soil -- rich soil mixed well with peat and kept moist to wet. Plant the tuber or seedling at least 1 inch deep in wet soil in a sunny spot and watch the beautiful gray-green foliage sprout and leaf out. The smallest types of lotus grow less than 24 inches tall and grow well as houseplants in small containers with the right conditions, including evenly moist soil that never dries out, moisture in