Large single flower of the Flavescens lotus, cream petals around a yellow receptacle, beneath a lotus leaf

Wide-open single cream-yellow flower of the Flavescens lotus, with a golden receptacle and stamens at the centre

Lotus Nelumbo Flavescens

Name: Lotus Nelumbo Flavescens
Brand: Latour-Marliac
SKU: LOTY00205
Price: 45.0 USD
Availability: InStock

$45.00

$15.00 × 3 with no fees Klarna.

The Flavescens lotus is a large hardy lotus with a single, pale yellow flower of 20 cm, bred in the 19th century in Lot-et-Garonne. The plant reaches 120 to 150 cm above the water and is grown in a container in a sunny pond.

Shipped as a bare rhizome from 1 April to 15 June only. An order placed outside this period is recorded as a pre-order and ships at the start of the following season.

Ref. LOTY00205·Aquatic plant

Customer support 7 days a week by email

Delivery within 2 to 15 business days

100 % secure payment

The summary

What it is: a horticultural variety bred in the 19th century in a nursery in the Lot-et-Garonne.
The flower: pale yellow, single, about 20 cm across, from June to August.
The size: 120 to 150 cm tall, with leaves of 50 to 60 cm.
Planting: a 20-litre pot, then a 150-litre tub, under 30 cm of water.

Large hardy lotus with a pale yellow flower, bred in the 19th century

Flavescens opens a large, single, pale yellow bloom, 20 cm across, held 120 to 150 cm above the water. It is a horticultural cultivar that came out of a nursery in Lot-et-Garonne in the 19th century, and it is still propagated today in the same way as at the outset.

📜 A 19th-century cultivar

Bory Latour-Marliac created this variety in his nursery in the south-west of France, at a time when the hybridisation of aquatic plants was only just beginning. The very name of the plant describes its colour, the Latin flavescens meaning "turning yellow". More than a century later, it is still propagated by dividing the rhizome, plant after plant, so that each rhizome reproduces exactly the colour and dimensions of the original plant.

The flower

It is pale yellow, single, and about 20 cm in diameter.

The leaf

It forms a parasol of 50 to 60 cm, standing well above the water.

The height

The plant reaches 120 to 150 cm above the surface of the pond.

Water

Allow 30 cm of water above the soil in the tub, in full sun.

More pellets in a large container

A plant of this size draws heavily on the soil in its container, so the number of tablets follows the volume of soil it occupies. Allow 6 to 9 tablets of aquatic plant fertiliser per plant, the lower end of the range in the 20-litre pot of the first season and the upper end once the root ball has moved into a 150-litre container, spreading them around the rhizome. Push them in at planting, then just once each spring.

🌕 A yellow bloom 20 cm across

The corolla stays single, and therefore open, and the heart of the flower is visible from the first day. You measure these 20 cm at full opening, on the second or third morning, and not on the day the bud first parts. On an established plant, the flower stalks follow one another from June to August, and each flower lasts a few mornings before giving way to its seed pod, which stays upright above the water.

A plant 1.50 m tall, with each leaf covering 50 to 60 cm, needs a pond to match. In the first season, the rhizome settles into a pot of at least 20 litres, filled with heavy garden soil and placed under 30 cm of water measured from the surface of the soil. As early as the following spring, you divide the rhizome or move the root ball into a container of about 150 litres, because a large lotus that lacks space produces smaller leaves and fewer flowers.

🔄 Filtration that follows the seasons

In aquaponics, a lotus of this size absorbs a significant share of the nitrates and phosphates from the fish waste, but it does so mainly from April to August. From September, its uptake drops sharply, then stops altogether during the winter rest. If you are counting on it to purify the water, reduce the fish feeding slightly from the start of autumn, and size your mechanical filtration for the low season rather than for summer. The guide growing lotus in aquaponics covers this calendar in detail.

Winter has to be prepared for in an aquaponic system too. The rhizome stays in place at the bottom of a deep pond, where ice cannot reach it; a shallow container or one standing above ground is placed at the bottom of the pond before the frosts, or else the rhizome is kept submerged in a bucket of fresh water, in a frost-free cellar, between 4 and 10 °C. During this dormancy, the share of purification provided by the plant disappears, and checking your parameters twice a month takes over.

📦 The rhizome and the calendar

Dispatch only takes place between 1 April and 15 June, and the rhizome travels bare and dormant, in damp paper inside a plastic bag. You lay it flat on the firmed soil of the pot, cover it with 2 to 3 cm while leaving the growing tips just showing, then wait 3 to 4 days before adding the water. A layer of pozzolana steadies the soil at the moment of immersion and limits cloudiness in the water.

This winter dormancy makes the plant easy to keep from one year to the next. The foliage dies back completely in autumn, the rhizome waits beneath the soil, and growth starts again in spring, when the water rises above 20 °C during the day. The rhizome withstands frost like a hardy water lily, as long as the ice does not reach it. The seasonal calendar gives month-by-month guidance, and the other large varieties are listed in the aquatic plants collection.

Technical specifications

The plant

Type: Old horticultural varietyPropagated by division, each plant reproduces the original plant
Flower: Pale yellow, about 20 cmSingle corolla, centre visible as soon as it opens
Leaf: Parasol of 50 to 60 cmHeld upright on a rigid stem above the water
Height: 120 to 150 cmFoliage and flower stalks above the surface
Flowering: June to AugustSuccessive flower stalks on an established plant
Water depth: 30 cmMeasured from the soil surface in the pot

To budget for separately

Container: Pot of at least 20 LThe first season, then a 150 L tub
Soil: Clay garden soilSieved, free of stones; a compost floats when the container is filled with water
Fertilizer: Pellets for aquatic plants6 to 9 per plant, the upper end of the range in a large container
Pozzolana: 1 to 2 cm above the soilIt holds the soil in place when the pond is filled

2 further specifications are available in the detailed view.

In the box

1 bare Flavescens lotus rhizome, in damp paper inside a plastic bag

Height, leaf and flower diameter, colour, flowering and planting depth: producer's technical sheet, recorded on 11/10/2026.

Estimate your
delivery time

The rhizome is sent bare-root, cleaned, wrapped in damp paper inside a plastic bag, only from 1 April to 15 June. An order placed outside this period is recorded as a pre-order and ships at the start of the following season. Postage is calculated at checkout.

Frequently asked questions

8 questions

6 key questions, 8 in the detailed view

Who created this variety, and when?

Does such an old variety keep its characteristics?

How much space does it need in a pond?

Can it be planted directly into the sludge in the pond?

Dug pond or large patio container?

How do I get a second plant?

When should it be put in water?

Is its flower yellow or white?

Let us talk about your project

A question about this product or your setup? Our team will answer and advise you.

Email us Contact form

Interest-free instalment payments

Offered depending on the cart amount, at checkout.

Delivery in 2 to 15 working days

Depending on the products and shipping sites. Estimate by destination in the estimator on this page.

After-sales service 7 days a week by email or chat

Our team answers all your questions.

Shop responsibly

Become part of the change.

Lotus Nelumbo Flavescens

The summary