Common name: Lotus
Family: Nelumbonaceae, Nelumbo
Height x width: 3-6' x 3-4'
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: rounded 2-3' across, blue-green, on top of tall stalks, very water repellent
Flowers: various shades of pinks and yellows or red; 8-12" across on top of tall stems in summer, may be fragrant
Hardiness: zones 4-5 to 10
Soil: wet at water depths of 1-3' deep
Light: sun
Pests and Problems: leafspot, aphids, Japanese beetle (none usually serious)
Landscape habit, uses: water gardens
Other interest: nucifera held sacred in India and the Far East; in warm climates they may be grown for culinary use as stalks, roots and seeds are edible
Other culture: may not bloom reliably in low light levels and lack of serious heat of northern U.S. and northern Europe; if grown outside, water level should be more shallow in cool and late season weather in order to stay warmer; bring indoors and keep just moist overwinter for those non-hardy
Propagation: division of rhizome (difficult as it resent disturbance), seeds (scarified) and sown in spring in rich loam under several inches of water; as plant grows place in deeper water
Species:
nucifera (new-si' fer-ah)--East Indian, Sacred Lotus; native to southern Asia and Australia, introduced to the Nile around 500BC but now extinct there; zones 5-10 although species is generally 9-10; pinks to white blooms to 6' and fragrant
lutea (lew-tee' ah)--American Lotus; native to eastern N. America, zones 4-10, yellow blooms to 3'
pentapetala:lutea
Cultivars:
Many developed by Perry Slocum. All nucifera except lutea
var. flavescens.
| Cultivar | flowers | other | |
| 'Alba' | white | ||
| 'Alba Grandiflora' | white, over 1' across, cupped | fragrant | |
| 'Alba Striata' | white, globular, pale pink edges | ||
| 'Angel Wings' | white, long tulip-shaped | ||
| 'Baby Doll' | white, single | dwarf | |
| 'Carolina Queen' | mauve pink | ||
| 'Caspium' | dark rose, large, fragrant | native to Russia | |
| 'Charles Thomas' | pink fading lavender | dwarf | |
| 'Chawan Basu' | white edged pink | semi-dwarf | |
| 'Empress' | white edged crimson | ||
| var. flavescens | lemon-yellow, red basal spots | strong scent | |
| 'Giant Sunburst' | yellow, large | ||
| 'Hindu' | pink, creamy yellow center | ||
| 'Kermisina' | red, double | Japanese origin | |
| 'Lavender Lady' | bluish-pink, white bases, large | ||
| 'Maggie Belle Slocum' | mauve, large, inner petals rolled | fragrant | |
| 'Momo Botan' | carmine, double | small | |
| 'Mrs. Perry D. Slocum' | rose aging creamy yellow, double | best U.S. cultivar | |
| 'Perry's Giant Sunburst' | light yellow, large | ||
| 'Perry's Super Star' | light red, double | ||
| 'Pygmaea Alba' | pure white, small 4" wide | 1' tall | |
| 'Queen' | creamy yellow, fragrant | ruffled leaves | |
| 'Red Lotus' | rosy red, large | ||
| 'Rosea Plena' | pink to red, double, very large | fragrant | |
| 'Rubrum' | red, large | ||
| 'Sharon' | pink to red, double, large | ||
| 'Shirokunshi' | creamy-white, tulip-shaped | semi-dwarf | |
| 'Shiroman' | cream tinged green fading white | Japanese, double | |
| 'Speciosum' | pink, large | ||
| 'The Queen' | creamy yellow, large | ||
| 'Tulip' | pure white, tulip-shaped | dwarf | |
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