Water Garden

Lotus

There are only two species of lotus, though there are many cultivars. The more commonly recognized Asian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) has pink petals, while the petals of the American lotus (N. lutea) are yellow. Flowers open in the morning and close in the afternoon with each bloom lasting just three or four days.

In many spiritual traditions around the world, the lotus is a symbol of life, renewal, and transcendence. It starts as a seed in the mud, symbolizing life and the physical world. Seeds can lie dormant for over one hundred years, symbolizing the promise of renewal. Lotuses grow many feet before emerging into the air and blooming, revealing a delicate flower unscathed by the muddy waters from which it arose, symbolizing transcendence.

Duckweed

Duckweed is a common name given to several species in the aroid subfamily Lemnoideae. All are small floating plants that grow in dense clusters, forming green blankets over still bodies of water. Wolffia arrhiza is a type of duckweed and the world’s smallest flowering plant. Sometimes mistaken for algae, duckweeds are an important food source for waterfowl and fish, and habitat for micro-invertebrates. However, they have the potential to grow too rapidly and can become problematic if widespread, bringing water oxygen levels too low to support healthy aquatic wildlife.

Hardy and Tropical Waterlilies

Many people often confuse lotus (Nelumbo) and waterlilies (Nymphaea). Waterlily leaves, or lily pads, grow floating directly on the water, with a small v-shaped slit at one end to help water run off. Lotus flowers and their mature leaves emerge and extend up and out of the water.

The Water Garden contains both tropical and hardy waterlilies flanking the central Lotus Pond. Tropical waterlilies must be overwintered in heated tanks and grow from a single vertical crown. They typically have more of a variety in flower color than the hardy waterlilies and can bloom either during the day or at night. Flowers are held slightly above the water’s surface.

Hardy waterlilies go dormant in winter but their fleshy horizontal rhizomes can survive cold temperatures. They are available in a smaller range of flower colors, from white to pink, yellow, and orange. Most, but not all, of the flowers float directly on the water’s surface.

Victoria Waterlilies

With enormous spiny pads and mysterious night-blooming flowers, Victoria waterlilies have long captivated those lucky enough to witness this fascinating plant. In habitat, Victoria reside in seasonally flooded backwaters of the Amazonian and Paraná River basins and there are three species in the genus: Victoria amazonica, V. cruziana, and the newly described V. boliviana.

Lotusland’s archives contain invoices and frequent correspondence between Madame Ganna Walska and Dr. John T. Charleson, manager of William Tricker Inc., what is now America’s oldest water garden supplier (est. 1892). Madame Walska’s letters include detailed horticultural inquiries regarding the culture and care of many aquatic plants including lotus, waterlilies, and Victoria. She was especially enamored with Victoria and, after four failed attempts, finally succeeded in growing the plants in the summer of 1955.

Victoria are started from seed at Lotusland’s nursery in the winter. Once the water temperatures in the outdoor ponds are warm enough they are placed in the Water Garden and Cycad Garden ponds. Victoria waterlilies bloom in an intriguing floral display over two nights with female and male structures developing consecutively.