Nelumbo nucifera Tulip Lotus - Sacred lotus

Nelumbo nucifera ‘Tulip Lotus’, also marketed as ‘Shirokunshi’, is a medium-statured white lotus, prized for its refined style. This variety exhibits good vigour and offers a generous flowering in full sun. Its narrow buds open into white cups with upright petals, like a tulip resting above ample, rounded foliage. Its presence creates a peaceful and architectural atmosphere in the water garden, between the purity of line and summer luxuriance.

The Nelumbo genus belongs to the Nelumbonaceae family, distinct from that of water lilies, even though the two plants are sometimes confused. The species Nelumbo nucifera, the sacred lotus or Indian lotus, is native to a vast area ranging from Asia to northeastern Australia; it has been cultivated for centuries as an ornamental, food, and symbolic plant.

The cultivar ‘Tulip Lotus’, of Japanese origin, is described by some specialists as a natural hybrid, and it circulates under several horticultural names, notably ‘Shirokunshi’ and, among some collectors, ‘Shirokunshihoren’. Like all lotus, it develops from a fleshy rhizome rooted in mud or in a heavy substrate. Its peltate, almost circular, green leaves, measuring 30 cm in diameter or more, depending on the plant's vigour, are borne on long petioles; their surface repels water, which beads and slides at the slightest movement. Unlike water lilies, whose flowers and leaves float or remain close to the surface, the lotus raises its leaves and flowers well above the water. 'Tulip Lotus’ reaches 60 to 100 cm in height, sometimes more under very good conditions. Flowering is one of its major assets. The elegant and narrow buds first open into a tulip-shaped cup before opening further, without losing their upright stance. The flowers have fewer than twenty petals and measure 18 to 25 cm in diameter; they are renewed throughout the summer, each flower lasting about three days. They open in the morning and close in the evening. At the centre of the corollas, the yellow then green receptacle gradually takes on the typical conical shape of the lotus, containing the seeds.

A deciduous aquatic herbaceous plant, ‘Tulip Lotus’ begins its growth when the water truly warms up in spring. It first unfurls a few floating leaves before emitting its aerial leaves and flowering stems. In autumn, the foliage yellows then disappears, while the rhizome goes dormant in the mud.

This lotus is suitable for medium or large ponds and very calm pools, but also for large watertight containers, tanks, and half-barrels placed in full light. Its development is quite adjustable depending on the container: the greater the volume offered to the rhizome, the bigger the plant grows. On a terrace or in a small garden, it can therefore become the centrepiece of a miniature water garden. Cultivation in a submerged pot is, in fact, the best way to control its vigour and simplify maintenance. In cold climates, the main thing is to avoid the rhizome freezing: in a sufficiently deep pond, the container can be lowered below the zone likely to be frozen. In an above-ground container, it is safer to overwinter it in a cool, frost-free location or under effective protection.

Beyond the garden, Nelumbo nucifera is one of the great cultural plants of Asia: its rhizomes, seeds, leaves, and flowers are traditionally used there, and the lotus is also a major symbol of purity in Hinduism and Buddhism; it is notably the national flower of India and Vietnam.