The International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS) have revealed the winners of their 2021 New Waterlily Competition.
This year 26 hybridizers from 9 different countries entered their best new waterlilies into the competition, making it the largest IWGS competition to date.
This is the third year the competition has been held at Naples Botanical Gardens in Florida where the plants were grown by Aquatics Areas Manager, Kathy Cahill.
The competition received entries in each of the following 5 categories:
- Hardy
- Tropical Day-Bloomer
- Tropical Night-Bloomer
- Hardy Intersubgeneric
- Tropical Intersubgeneric
Overall Winner of the 2021 IWGS New Waterlily Competiton
Nymphaea ‘Purple Zebra’
Hybridised By Pornchai Sukkasemsamranjit of Thailand.
Photo credit: Kathy Cahill (Naples Botanical Garden)
I was pleased to once again join an international panel of judges to evaluate the entries on the quality of the flowers and foliage as well as the general impression and uniqueness of the plant. These evaluations were made based on grower Kathy Cahill’s notes and photos over the ten-week observation period at Naples Botanical Gardens. Among the judges were professional waterlily growers from botanic gardens and plant nurseries, as well as hybridizers and experienced hobbyists.
The full list of winners can be seen on the IWGS website www.iwgs.org
