Hardy Lotus 'Empress'

There is a beautiful Lotus pond at Barnsley Gardens, in Adairsville, Georgia. There are many different gardens there, including an heirl...Read Moreoom rose garden, and if you are nearby you simply must go to Barnsley Gardens and see their lotus pond.

The Empress lotus sprouts huge 12"+ pads of a medium green that look velvety, both on the surface of the water and also held high above. ...Read More In summer very beautiful large white "balls" form, steaked with a rose pink along the edges, that will eventually open to a lovely flower. They are held high above the water on strong stems. As the flowers fade they will leave behind a triangular pod containing seeds. The pod is first green, then yellow and becomes dark brown with age as it dries. Wonderful for use in dried arrangements. The pods are on the smaller side - approximately 2" in diameter - not the huge pods found in stores which sell dried flowers.

When wintering over, make sure pot is in deepest section of pond and will not freeze. Growth is fast. Needs a minimum of 4 hours of sunlight per day.


I purchased an empress lotus in an 18" diameter, shallow lotus pot where it had lots of room to grow. It grew happily for several years - I would simply fertilize in spring and cut down and remove all the stalks, leaves and pods when I winterized the pond in fall. About the 4th spring I pulled the (then terribly heavy) pot out of the pond, read up on how to divide a lotus via online instructions, and set out to divide my enormous lotus. Well...I did something terribly wrong because I killed it. Probably should have waited until later in the spring when it's growing tips had leafed out and were more visable. Not a job for beginner do-it-yourselfers! I still miss it and will probably try again!