A Year Later

Yesterday, August 8, 2003, was exactly one year since I started five lotus seeds. All five gave rise to plants that are still growing; I found good homes for three of them, and kept two for myself. And here they are, on their first birthday:

The plant on the left, in the wooden tub produced five gorgeous flowers, and the one on the right produced one, which is in decline at the time this picture was taken.

About one week after the very first flower lost its petals, the seed pod looked like this (below); it seems as if only two ovules were fertilized, leading to the two green seeds that are obviously larger than the shriveling yellow ones.

Many people have contacted me with questions about growing lotus, and I've tried to offer helpful suggestions, but have to stress that this has been my very first experience with lotus, so I don't know a whole lot beyond what I've described in these pages!

One thing I've discovered, however, is that some folks don't realize that the seeds have to mature within the pod while it is still attached to the plant. A fully mature pod, with seeds that are ready to germinate, is dark brown and hard, and the seeds lie loosely within their little holes, easily falling out on their own. Trying to germinate seeds before this stage will probably lead to disappointment.

I don't have any ripe pods on my plants yet, but here's a pretty good picture of one, on the right.