I'm new to this forum and just got my first lotus bloom today. I planted a tuber of "The President" lotus in my natural pond in March and replanted it in a cage in April (darn turtles). After the initial setback, it has really started growing and now the tuber system is over 10', judging by where the leaves are coming up.
Rick
This is most of the lotus.
Here's a closer look at the bloom.
This is 1 of the 2 lotus that I started from a seed the first of June.