Lotus, Sacred (Nelumbo nucifera) seeds

Family: Lotus (Nelumbonacea)

Hardy to Zones 6 to 12

Aquatic perennial native to India and Asia.  Roots, leaves, stems, flowers and seeds used in food and ritual.  Traditional usage (Ayurveda):  Tonic to digestion, genito-urinary tract, skin.   To sprout the seeds, tap with a hammer on a hard surface to crack, or rub through the seed coat near the dimpled base of the seed with sandpaper or a grinding wheel until the white endosperm is just exposed.  Then drop seed in a gallon jar of water placed indoors in a light, warm windowsill or in the greenhouse. When water becomes cloudy, replace it with clear water.  Germination occurs in 6 to 60 days.  Roots are formed 1 to 2 weeks after the shoots. After the seedling produces its first roots,  transplant to the pond.  Ponds 3 feet deep are commonly utilized, although shallower water may be more appropriate for working up the new seedling, and water as deep as 8 feet will work for mature plants.  Make sure the roots are firmly anchored in the mud at the bottom of the pond.  In areas where the mud at the bottom of the pond does not freeze, these will naturalize and bloom in the second year.  Lotus may also be grown in a container.  Start with a 1-gallon size pot without drainage holes.  Put 2 inches of clay or very dense topsoil in the container and thoroughly wet it.  Do not touch the stems, they tend to go black if they are pinched.  Instead just scoop up the rooted seed and drop it in the hole.  Plant the sprouted seed with roots down and green portions up about 1 inch deep in the wet clay.  Cover with 2 inches of sand to keep it in place, then carefully fill the container with water up to the brim.  The green shoots should be above the water surface when this is finished.  After the rhizome fills the pot, set the pot in at the base of a half-drum that has a 6 inch layer of clay at the bottom.  Nestle the pot down into the clay.  Then as the plant grows and develops, gradually fill the half drum with water in order to accommodate the expanding growth.  Harvest for the edible rhizome (tuber) is in the fall.  In the tropics, it takes 120 days for the tubers to reach edible size.  In colder climes, it takes 150 to 180 days before harvest.  Flowers are not produced until the second year.  Space plants 3 feet apart.

Packet contains 7 seeds
100 g contains ~100 seeds

Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s