How To Grow Lotus & Water Lilies
Practical advice on how to grow lotus and water lilies from our garden, Lotus Inthanon, in Northern Thailand.
Lotus and water lilies are among the most beautiful plants you can grow in a pond, container or water garden. But if you’ve ever wondered how to grow lotus, how to grow water lilies, what soil to use, how much sun they need, or if they will grow where you live, you’re not alone.
We love growing lotus and water lilies in our garden, Lotus Inthanon. We’re located at the foot of Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain. We also have a homestay here, Suan Sook Homestay, and love it when we have guests who are interested in gardening.
Experimenting with different containers, soils, feeding methods and growing conditions. This collection of videos and articles shares what we’ve learned along the way — including some of the things that haven’t worked so well.
Whether you have a big pond, a small garden, or just a pot on your patio, we’ll show you easy ways to grow and enjoy these beautiful aquatic plants.
Growing Lotus
Lotus can look complicated to grow, but once you understand what the plant needs, they can be very rewarding.
We’ll show you how to grow lotus, even in small pots and containers. You’ll learn how to choose the right soil and feed your plants so they stay healthy. We’ll also cover how to encourage flowering, propagate new plants, and see how climate affects their growth.
Topics we’ll be covering include:
- How to grow lotus
- Growing lotus in pots
- Growing lotus in containers
- Lotus plant care
- Best soil for lotus
- Lotus potting soil
- How to get lotus to flower
- Lotus fertilizer and feeding
- Lotus propagation
- Growing lotus in different climates
- Growing lotus without a pond
- Lotus care for beginners
[Explore our lotus growing videos and articles →]
Growing Water Lilies
Water lilies have some similarities to lotus, but they have their own growing requirements. Choosing the right variety for your climate and giving the plants suitable conditions can make a huge difference.
Our water lily videos show you how to grow water lilies and give them the best care. You’ll learn about the right soil and feeding, as well as choosing the best containers. We’ll also cover propagation and explain the main differences between tropical and hardy water lilies.
Topics we’ll be covering include:
- How to grow water lilies
- Growing water lilies
- Water lily care
- Water lily plant care
- Best soil for water lilies
- Water lily soil
- Growing water lilies in pots
- Growing water lilies in containers
- Tropical water lilies
- Hardy water lilies
- Tropical vs hardy water lilies
- Growing water lilies in different climates
- Water lilies for small ponds
- Water lilies for container ponds
[Explore our water lily growing videos and articles →]
Do You Need a Pond to Grow Lotus or Water Lilies?
One of the questions we hear most often is whether you need a large pond to grow these plants.
You don’t necessarily need a huge garden or an elaborate pond. Lotus and some water lilies can be grown in containers, making them possible for people with much smaller growing spaces. Here at Lotus Inthanon we grow most of our aquatic plants in containers.
In this series, we want to help you grow these plants successfully. We’ll show you how to do it using the space and resources you already have.
Growing Aquatic Plants in a Tropical Climate
Our garden is in Northern Thailand, where we grow lotus and water lilies in a warm, tropical environment. We have a distinct rainy season alongside a cooler period during the year.
This gives us a chance to share something unique that general gardening advice often misses. We’ll show you how climate changes the way you grow aquatic plants.
We’ll share what we’re learning about:
- Tropical growing conditions
- Sunlight and heat
- Water temperature
- Rainy and dry seasons
- Tropical water lilies
- Lotus in warm climates
- Growing aquatic plants in containers
- Adapting plant care to your local climate
If you’re growing in a much colder area, many of these basic ideas will still help you. However, your variety selection and seasonal care will look very different.
Lotus & Water Lily Growing: Our Approach
We’re not trying to create a perfect garden or tell you there’s only one way to grow these plants. That’s just not our style or how we like to do things.
We’re sharing what we’re actually doing in our own garden here at Suan Sook Homestay.
Our ideas come from study, experience, testing new things, and watching what happens so we can learn from the results.We are evolving as our garden evolves. Every garden is special and different and we hope that what we have to share will encourage and inspire you in your own garden.
Are you interested in lotus growing, water lily care, or container ponds? If you love aquatic gardening and water gardening, follow along as we keep learning!
We regularly upload videos about growing lotus and water lilies to our YouTube channel. Please be sure to check it out and don’t forget to subscribe so you can see our latest.
