How to Grow a Lotus Garden

Find a location for the lotus garden that will receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight each day. Make sure the pond will be large enough for a 4-foot-diameter area per lotus plant. Think about the desired configuration of your lotus garden. It can be round, oval, square, rectangular, kidney-shaped or any combination of shapes.

Use a garden hose to outline the intended pond design. Outline the final dimensions of the pond with spray paint or lime. Dig the pond to a depth of 20 inches. Remove rocks and tree roots from the bottom. Make sure it is smooth.

Place wet sand on the bottom of the pond to a depth of 2 inches. Use a 2-by-4-inch board to level the sand. Lay the pond liner over the pond and let it sink down to the bottom. Smooth the liner by hand along the bottom and sides, removing any sharp creases. Place rocks or pea gravel on the liner around the top edge or shore of the pond to cover the liner edges and help hold it in place. Fill the pond with water. Do not add the lotus until the water temperature naturally warms.

Pack well-aged cow manure to a depth of 2 inches in the bottom of a 3- to 4-foot-diameter plastic container that is 10 to 12 inches tall. Cover the cow manure with 2 inches of rich loamy soil. Do not use peat-based potting soil.

Lay the lotus tuber on the soil. Hold the tuber with the flat end up against the wall of the container, the middle of the tuber on the soil and the growing tip pointing up out of the soil. Add several more inches of soil until the middle of the tuber is covered. The flat end may be covered with soil if necessary due to the shape of the tuber, but do not cover the growing tip. Fill the rest of the container with water, taking care not to displace the tuber.

Make sure the container stays between 75 and 80 degrees F until the lotus tuber grows several leaves. Lower the lotus container into the pond after it begins growing. In hot locations where the pond water naturally stays between 75 and 80 degrees F, you may place the containers in the pond right after planting.

Do not fertilize the lotus for the first year. Fertilize with aquatic plant fertilizer once each month from the second year on.

Remove the lotus from the pond in the fall in cold locations where the water will freeze. Remove the yellowed leaves from the tubers. Place the container in a location that remains consistently cool to maintain the lotus's dormant state, and keep the container filled with water. Put them back in the pond in the spring after the water thaws and reaches about the same temperature you stored them at through the winter. Leave them in the pond year-round in locations where the water will not freeze.