Nelumbo nucifera
'Tiny Red Elf' is a very small bowl lotus that has sharply pointed petals that drape beautifully as the flower ages. The soft red color gives way to petals with a a slight blush of red at the tips of white petals. This little 'Tiny Red Elf' will be the perfect gnome in your garden!
Flower Color: Light Red
Plant Height: Bowl, up 13” tall
Flower Type: Multi-petal, more than 50 petals
Pot Size: 8” and wider, 4”-10” deep
Do you want to grow this one as a mini lotus? Please let us know by writing in the comment section of the check out page - "TO BE GROWN IN SMALL POT". Directions for planting as a micro lotus are found below.
Pot-in-Pot Method for Micro Lotus
EXQUISITE OF BOWL LOTUS (MICRO LOTUS) “Lotus cultivars developed to grow and flourish in very small pots (4”-12” wide, 8” or less deep). These hybrids usually stay less than 13” tall.”
We recommend growing these varieties using the pot-in-pot method.
Choose two pots:
Pot A – small display pot. This is the smallest of the two pots and should measure at least 4” smaller in diameter and 2” less in height than Pot B. The lotus tuber is planted in Pot A. This pretty pot can be removed from Pot B for display when lotus is blooming.
Pot B - larger outside growing pot, not for display. Pot A should be able to sit in Pot B with about at least a 2” margin on all sides and at top.
1) Fill Pot A (display pot) ¾ full of topsoil.
2) Fill to top with water and plant tuber in Pot A.
3) Place Pot A in Pot B.
4) Slowly fill Pot B with water, making sure that there is at least 1” of water above the top rim of Pot A, the display pot with planted tuber.
5) Place in direct sun. Keep water level higher than top rim of Pot A.
HOW TO FERTILIZE LOTUS
For conventional fertilizer (tablets or loose prills) which releases quickly when water is added:
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 1-2 tablets per gallon of soil in the pot. Once the lotus has started to grow vigorously tablets can be added every 2-3 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 rhizomes.
For SLOW-RELEASE FERTILIZER like Nutricote 14-4-14, 100 day fertilizer:
*follow amount directions on package. Place fertilizer around the bottom of the pot then add soil. Plant rhizome in the soil at the top of soil layer and let it grow down to find fertilizer. We use slow-release fertilizer but begin adding extra Pondtabbs after 3 months when growth gets vigorous and we continue adding extra fertilizer until late summer.
Do NOT use 360 day fertilizer because it will release fertilizer for too long and the lotus will not form as many rhizomes when it goes dormant.