Glendale Flower and Water Gardens 
1260 Justin Avenue, Glendale, California 
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Egyptian 
and 
American 
Lotus 
or 
]\[elumbium 
What We as Lovers of Flowers Thin\ of the Lotus and How to Plant and Raise Them 
Egyptian Water Garden 
Egyptian Sacred Lotus 
Speciosum 
When the ancient Egyptians selected the lotus 
for their religious rites they surely gave the world 
proof of their absolute ability to select the fair¬ 
est in art. 
The far east is written in every vein and placed 
in every petal as well as in the fragrance of this 
wonderful flower and it is like the stately Taj 
Mahal of India, which was built three centuries 
ago by the great Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan as 
a tomb for his favorite queen, Arjmand Banu— 
"The Chosen of the Palace.” 
The lotus is found in the very front pool of 
this beautiful garden with the Taj Mahal fac¬ 
ing it. 
In describing this plant we must not lose sight 
of the wonderful green leaves and the strange 
seed pods which are as mysterious and fascinat¬ 
ing as the flowers and which rise from one to 
four feet out of the water and are a source of 
pleasure to the grower each time they are gazed 
upon. 
It is the concensus of opinion among most 
people that the lotus is hard to grow. This is 
a mistaken idea, because if the bulbs are prop¬ 
erly planted and they have crowns, they grow very 
profusely. 
When building a pond for lotus you can make 
it just about any depth you wish. I have seen 
them grow very well in depths ranging from six 
inches to six feet of water. The lotus are grown 
in our garden in depths of water ranging from 
six inches to three feet. 
We usually like a pond which is irregular in 
shape and sloping from the sides to a depth of 
18 inches in the middle. This gives a chance 
to all water plants that you place in your pond. 
After the pond is built and ready for planting, 
place three inches of well-rotted cow fertilizer 
over the entire bottom; then three or four inches 
of garden soil over this; level off and pack down 
well with anything available; then spread some 
nice clean plaster sand completely over the soil. 
You are now ready for planting. 
The lotus bulbs look very much like peeled 
bananas and the crown is on the long end of 
the bulb. This crown should be placed up, with 
the bulb lying horizontal when planting because 
from this comes the new joint or runner and the 
perpendicular leaves and stems for the flowers. 
If this crown is ever broken off the bulb is 
worthless. You may plant the bulbs any distance 
apart you wish; however, about two feet is pref¬ 
erable. For the best results place the bulbs under 
approximately three inches of soil and fertilizer. 
After the planting is completed, place an or¬ 
dinary cake pan with turned up sides in the pond 
and place the garden hose inside and turn on 
the water very slowly. When the pond is filled 
it should be clear as a crystal. 
If this method of planting is followed, fish 
and water snails may be placed in the pond im¬ 
mediately as all impurities that may be in the 
cement are counteracted by the dirt and fertilizer. 
Until the growth is well established it is well 
to let a sprinkler that throws large drops of 
water, spray over the pond once a day, preferably 
in the evening or early morning. 
The second and third year you will find the 
growth and the flowers much more beautiful than 
the first year, so please do not be disappointed 
if they do not come up to your expectation the 
first year. 
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