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Zhizun Qianban
Nelumbo nucifera
EASY TO GROW!
Ultimate Thousand Petals was discovered by Dr. Daike Tian in Southern China in 2009. It is a large-sized lotus with a multi-petal pink flower composed of up to 1650 petals. The flower is very long lasting - in fact, some of the outer petals will begin to drop before the flower opens fully so we sometimes open this one by hand so we can enjoy it longer. We definitely suggest a larger pot with deeper soil for this lotus because the flowers are so big and heavy that they will fall over without the extra support! You can also tie the flower stem (peduncle) to several leaf stems to help keep it upright.
Flower Color: Soft Red
Plant Height: Tall, 48” and taller
Flower Type: Multi-petal, MANY more than 50 petals
Pot Size: 25” and wider, 18”-30” deep
The flowers of this lotus cultivar are so big and heavy that they need extra dirt (at least 8" - 10") in the pot so that the stems are supported enough to stand up without falling to the side.
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.