Nelumbo nucifera
HUGE FLOWERS! Our Happy flower!
Flower Color: Bright Pink
Plant Height: Tall, 48” and taller
Flower Type: Single or Few, less than 20 petals
Pot Size: 20” and wider, 12”-18” deep
Jeannie’s Smile — Our Happy Flower
Jeannie’s Smile is a magnificent large lotus with an especially generous, open form. Its very large flower seems to reach outward in every direction, creating a broad, welcoming bloom that is impossible to overlook.
Jeannie's Smile is named after the matriarch of the Kennedy family. She was an avid gardener who was happiest outside working with her day lilies. She was also right at home hosting big family gatherings because her family was so important to her. She would write "Jeannie-grams" to every family member that might be a poem or a story about growing up in the Deep South back when times were hard. She always ended her sweet notes to family members with "Live, Laugh, Love".
The petals are a beautiful soft rosy pink, paling toward their centers and deepening gently toward their edges. Broad and elegantly pointed, they overlap in graceful layers, while the sunlight passing through them gives the flower an almost translucent glow. The result is a remarkably luminous blossom—soft, warm, and full of life.
At the center, a green seed receptacle rises prominently above a spectacular halo of golden-yellow stamens. The contrast between the cool green center, brilliant gold filaments, and delicate pink petals gives the flower tremendous depth and character.
But the most important feature of Jeannie’s Smile is what its name expresses. There is something genuinely cheerful about this lotus. Its huge, open bloom, radiant color, and sunny golden center give it the appearance of a flower that is simply delighted to be blooming.
Jeannie’s Smile is our happy flower—a big, beautiful lotus that seems to smile back at everyone who sees it. 🌸
Wait until the lotus plant has several floating leaves or begins to put up aerial leaves before adding fertilizer. Choose a good fertilizer such as Waterlily World Tablets, Pondtabbs or Landon’s Aquatic Fertilizer and follow the instructions carefully. The amount of fertilizer to use is usually based on the size of the pot and the amount of soil in the pot. For example, most of the small tablets are added at a ratio of 1 tablet per gallon of soil in the pot. Once the lotus has started to grow vigorously tablets can be added every 3-4 weeks. Stop fertilizing in late summer to allow the lotus to use up all the fertilizer in the pot before going dormant. This encourages the lotus to form better tubers.