These are some decade-old photos showing how to grow lotus from seed. I'd done this many times, but this was the first time using a seed harvested from my own garden.
Here's a dried lotus seed pod from a plant growing in a pot.
Seeds removed from the pod.
You need to abrade the hard coating to expose the "meat" (endosperm) of the seed. Otherwise, it will not sprout, at least not very soon. Here I hold the seed with pliers and abrade with a file.
Seeds in a glass of water.
Starting to sprout.
Good progress.
First leaf in the air.
Transplanted to a larger pot. Top arrow shows a floating type of fern. Bottom arrow the other seed.
Doing real well after about a month.
Big leaves now, but they're still floating.
Finally some aerial leaves.
Pests!
Ready to transplant into the pond.
In the pond now.
Growing fast.
The flower is a night blooming lily.
Some of the roots have started to float.
Lots of healthy root growth.
Transplanting some of the roots into a big clay pot.
First flower bud from the potted lotus.
Just a tiny seed pod on this one.
Pond in the background.
