The lotus is the water gardens most fascinating plant. The bud rises on stems, which can be 2 to 6 feet tall and flowers as big around as a persons head. They come in shades of white, pink, red, yellow and cream. Large lotus leaves may be 2 feet wide and the heights 6 feet. A lotus takes as much pond space as a large water lily and needs a bit more care and patience to establish. An excellent choice for a small pond is the miniature tulip lotus. A common misconception about lotus is, that they are frost tender tropical. Lotus does thrive in warm and humid climates. They require three to four weeks of temperatures above 80 degrees to bloom, but they are hardy as far down as Minnesota. They only don't bloom well in cool summers. After transplanting, lotus bloom in the second summer. Lotus is the common name of plants of the genus Nelumbo. Lotus tubers should only be transplanted during the few weeks in spring when the rootstock is in tuber form. Soon the rootstock is all runners and transplanting is almost impossible. During late summer or fall the runners form tubers, the way as a hardy water lily, but each tuber requires a soil container 16 inches or more in diameter and 9 to 10 inches depth. Miniature varieties require containers about half this size. Plant the tuber with 2 inches of water over the soil, with the top ½ inch of the growing tip covert with gravel. Handle with care, the tubers are brittle. Most failures with lotus occur because the growing tip is damaged. Our climate here in the high desert is very harsh, so keep your lotus out of the drying winds and give it some afternoon shade.