Ganesh Anandha krishnan is happy at his Tripunithara house to witness the first blooming of the one thousand petal lotus. During this time of the pandemic, Ganesh was confused about whether this rare lotus will bloom in Kochi’s tropical climate, which is an adverse environment for it.
Hobbyist and lotus hybridiser Ganesh said to Times of India that he is on cloud nine because this one thousand petal lotus does not even bloom in the cooler northern climes.
According to the report, the lotus was discovered by Daike Tian, professor of Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences in China in 2009. Ganesh said that Daike had gifted him this plant. He shifted to Kerala eight months back, though he had brought the plant two years back to his house in Tripunithura, where he keeps many lotus plants in small tubs on his house terrace.
He had been trying to make it bloom for two years. Finally, it budded on June 21 and it took 19 days to bloom. The rain was a big challenge as the bud is really heavy. Ganesh also adds that the lockdown gave him more time to focus on the plants. This really helped him to overcome the lockdown blues.
