Nelumbo

The genus Lotus (Nelumbium, or Nelumbo) includes only 2 species of perennial aquatic plants with characteristic thyroid leaves - the petiole departs from the center of the leaf plate, and not from its base. The leaf plate is rounded, green and glaucous, wrinkled, with a small depression in the center - in the place where a long cylindrical petiole is attached. The leaves are covered with a wax layer that is not wetted by water and protrude from the water on shoots from 50 cm to 1 m long. The lotus is the main ornamental crop, the attractiveness of which lies in large flowers that bloom in summer. The buds are oval, and slightly blooming flowers are spherical in shape. Both species have a whitish elongated rhizome with several seals of darker color. The most common is the nut-bearing lotus (Nelumbium nucifera) of Asian origin. The minimum water thickness that it requires is 20 cm. The leaves are large, thyroid-shaped, up to 60-80 cm wide, on long petioles they rise above the surface of the water. On peduncles more than 1 m long, there are purple-pink flowers, lighter at the base. The seeds are enclosed in a seed pod. Another species, the yellow lotus (N. lutea), native to the southern United States, with light green leaves and fragrant large yellow flowers, is less picturesque and very rare.

The genus Lotus (Nelumbium, or Nelumbo) includes only 2 species of perennial aquatic plants with characteristic thyroid leaves - the petiole departs from the center of the leaf plate, and not from its base. The leaf plate is rounded, green and glaucous, wrinkled, with a small depression in the center - in the place where a long cylindrical petiole is attached. The leaves are covered with a wax layer that is not wetted by water and protrude from the water on shoots from 50 cm to 1 m long. The lotus is the main ornamental crop, the attractiveness of which lies in large flowers that bloom in summer. The buds are oval, and slightly blooming flowers are spherical in shape. Both species have a whitish elongated rhizome with several seals of darker color.

The most common is the nut-bearing lotus (Nelumbium nucifera) of Asian origin. The minimum water thickness that it requires is 20 cm. The leaves are large, thyroid-shaped, up to 60-80 cm wide, on long petioles they rise above the surface of the water. On peduncles more than 1 m long, there are purple-pink flowers, lighter at the base. The seeds are enclosed in a seed pod.

Another species, the yellow lotus (N. lutea), native to the southern United States, with light green leaves and fragrant large yellow flowers, is less picturesque and very rare.

Cultivation

The lotus is used for arranging swimming pools, ponds, lakes and other reservoirs, which it decorates with green foliage and magnificent summer flowering. In spring, the rhizomes are planted in fertilized, organic-rich soil. When planting, a layer of earth approximately 15 cm thick is laid in the pool and gradually filled with water, raising the level as the plant grows.

Location

They love both open sun and partially shaded areas.

Temperature

Lotus flowers are quite resistant to low temperatures. Only in harsh winters should the swollen and darkest parts of the rhizome be removed in autumn, and the rhizomes themselves should be stored in moist sand at a temperature of 10 °C, and then planted again in spring. Alternatively, you can drain the pool and cover the rhizomes with a layer of some covering material. In summer, the temperature of the reservoir should be 18-20 °C.

Lotus flowers are quite resistant to low temperatures. Only in harsh winters should the swollen and darkest parts of the rhizome be removed in autumn, and the rhizomes themselves should be stored in moist sand at a temperature of 10 °C, and then planted again in spring.

Alternatively, you can drain the pool and cover the rhizomes with a layer of some covering material. In summer, the temperature of the reservoir should be 18-20 °C.

Care

Too densely grown plants are periodically thinned out.

Reproduction

The lotus is usually propagated in the spring by dividing the rhizomes into parts, each one must have at least one shoot; they are planted immediately.

Diseases

Aphids cause discoloration and drying of flowers and leaves, and adults of the insect Papillia japonica in July and August eat leaves and flowers. Use appropriate insecticides, carrying out preventive treatment in May and June. Lotus is most often affected by a fungus of the genus Alternaria, which causes the formation of necrotic spots on the leaves. In this case, the plants are treated with fungicides based on dithiocarbamates.

Acquisition

Rhizomes are purchased in specialized stores; it is advisable to immediately plant them in a pond-the habitat of the lotus. To buy a plant, the best time is the end of spring, so that you can enjoy its flowering all summer. Choose specimens with leaves without spots or other obvious defects.