Have you heard of the lotus that can be grown in small tubs? Recently, I came across this variety of lotus that can be grown anywhere in a small tub or pot holding enough water.
I searched for the seeds. Yes, lotus does grow from a seed. A big black colored seed. So, I came across a packet that can be bought cheaply from Meesho, an online website in India. It arrived soon. We then took a spare tub that was usually used to store drinking water for the cow. Then, we filled it with wet mud, cow dung, black soil, and water.
The lotus seed packet has specific instructions. The seed was scratched as instructed and inserted into the mud. After a few days, it sprouted and leaves started coming up. As you might have observed, lotus leaves and flowers do stand above the water, and even if some do float on the water, not a drop of water sticks on the leaf, and also the leaves do not appear soaked.
After two months, the first bud bloomed and two weeks later, the flower bloomed. The lotus flower has a specialty. The flower blooms when the sun rises and fully opens around mid-morning. When the sun sets, the flower goes back to the bud form again and blooms only the next day. The flower petals start falling off on the third day.
There are various colors. The famed blue lotus is very rare and I have yet to see it.
I wrote about the lotus so that you can also start thinking about growing a few. It can be grown outside the house and does not need any special arrangements except a tub of water and mud. One does not need to change the water.
image - own