Sino-American Excellence - Glorious, HUGE flowers! Edible rhizomes!

Nelumbo Nucifera A gift from Dr. Daike Tian     'Sino-American Excellence' is a symbol of the goodwill and cooperation between lotus lovers in the United States and those in China. These flowers are as big as a basketball and the color is amazing. The pictures here show the progression of color going from dark solid pink on the first day to solid light pink to pink with creamy white in the center to white with just the slightest touch of pink. The last two pictures were taken by Dr. Tian in China. 'Sino-American Excellence' is a very large lotus and it would grow to its full potential in an earth-bottom pond but, as you can see from these pictures, it will also grow well in a large pot - see below. Large rhizomes for eating! Flower Color: Changeable, Pink Plant Height: Tall, 48” and taller Flower Type: Single or Few, less than 20 petals  Pot Size: 18” and wider, 12”-18” deep Large lotus varieties need large pots! This is a large lotus variety that needs a pot at least 20” or wider and 12” or more in depth. Be sure to fill the pot at least half full of soil to help offer support and stability for the leaves. Deeper soil allows them to withstand strong winds and keeps the heavy flowers and buds from falling. 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.