Vegetable · Nelumbonaceae
When to plant lotus roots
An aquatic perennial grown in a tub or a pond, ornamental for a season and then dug for the chambered rhizome that forms in the mud below.
First worthwhile crop
Year 2
After planting, not after sowing.
Hardy in USDA zones
5a to 11a
Winter cold sets the limit here, not the calendar.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Nothing about a standing crop is sown to a calendar. Once planted, lotus roots stay in the ground for years, so the question is not when to sow but whether your winter is survivable and your planting window is open. Both answers come from your frost dates.
- Expect a first worthwhile crop in year 2 after planting.
- Hardy in USDA zones 5a–11a.
Getting the timing right
Plant rhizomes in spring once the water has warmed past 18C, laid horizontally in heavy soil under 15cm of water. Harvest from the second autumn, after the leaves have browned.
Frost tolerance
Hardy to about -6C provided the rhizome sits below the ice line, which in a shallow container it does not. Bring tubs into shelter where winters freeze hard.
Classified as hardy, with damage expected below -6°C (21.2°F)21.2°F (-6°C).