2023 IWGS New Waterlily Competition
This year, to ensure the best conditions for all categories of waterlilies, we opted to have 2 different growing locations for the submissions. The hardy and hardy ISG waterlilies were grown in a more temperate site at Longwood Gardens with growers Suzanne Boom and Tim Jennings, while the tropical waterlily categories continued to be grown out at Naples Botanical Garden, with grower Matthew Herrman.
We received entries in each of the following 5 categories: Hardy, Tropical Day-Blooming, Hardy Intersubgeneric, Tropical Intersubgeneric, and Tropical Night-Blooming Waterlily.
The entries were evaluated by an international panel of judges 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 the grower’s notes and photos over the eight-week observation period. Among the judges were professional waterlily growers from botanic gardens and plant nurseries, as well as hybridizers and experienced hobbyists.
2023 Judges, in alphabetical order:
Andre Leu (Regeneration International, Australia)
Danny Cox (Longwood Gardens, USA)
James Allison (Aquapic Water Garden Solutions, UK)
Jon Sander (Glenstone Museum, USA)
Kathy Sassoon (Leuca Creek, Australia)
Marc Hachadourian (New York Botanical Garden, USA)
Nopchai Chansilpa (Thailand)
Rob Sheldon (Latour-Marliac, France)
Severine Lyssens-Danneboom (Agua, Belgium)
Stacie Zelenka (PondScapes, USA)
Steve Hampson (USA)
Weerada Tanaakarapakin (Buafah Garden, Thailand)
THE WINNERS OF THE 2023 IWGS NEW WATERLILY COMPETITION
2023 IWGS Best Overall New Waterlily
Nymphaea ‘Wichitra’
By Wipiwan Sriuram (Thailand)
2023 IWGS Best New Hardy Waterlily
1st Place
Nymphaea ‘Golden Gate’
by Khwanyok Khamklang (Thailand)
2nd Place
Nymphaea ‘Treesuwan’
by Somchan Treesuwan (Thailand)
3rd Place
Nymphaea ‘Valentine’s Day’
by Pornchai Sukkasemsamranjit (Thailand)
2023 IWGS Best New Hardy Intersubgeneric (ISG) Waterlily
photo credit: Suzanne Boom (Longwood Gardens)
1st Place
Nymphaea ‘U Bon Thep’
by Prajak Tumrarieng (Thailand)
photo credit: Suzanne Boom (Longwood Gardens)
2nd Place
Nymphaea ‘Jardin Nelumbo’
By Florian Henaux (France)
photo credit: Suzanne Boom (Longwood Gardens)
3rd Place
Nymphaea ‘Violet Beauty’
by Andreas Protopapas (Cyprus)
2023 IWGS Best New Tropical Day-Blooming Waterlily
photo credit: Matthew Herrman (Naples Botanical Garden)
lst Place
Nymphaea ‘Wichitra’
by Wipiwan Sriuram (Thailand)
photo credit: Matthew Herrman (Naples Botanical Gardens)
2nd Place
Nymphaea ‘Zi Lan’
by Weiqiang Yuan (China)
photo credit: Matthew Herrman (Naples Botanical Garden)
3rd Place
Nymphaea ‘Chaiyaphum
by Arun Kobkaew (Thailand)
2023 Best New Tropical ISG Waterlily
lst Place
Nymphaea ‘New Poem of the Nile’
by Zijun Lee (China)
2023 Best New Tropical Night Blooming Waterlily
1st Place
Nymphaea ‘Papasarathorn’
by Pang U Bon (Thailand)
We would like to thank all the hybridizers for offering their creations for evaluation and offer our sincere gratitude to the judges who volunteered their time to examine these hybrids and made many tough decisions. Our thanks also goes out to those who made donations to the IWGS in support of the Competition.
Not least of all, we wish to extend our gratitude to Naples Botanical Garden and Longwood Gardens for hosting this year’s competition, and for providing the location and staff to ensure the success of the competition. We could not have done this without you.