2020 IWGS New Waterlily Competition Results

The International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS) has put on its New Waterlily Competition (NWC) for more than 20 years. The competition aims to showcase and evaluate the latest interesting cultivars from around the world.
 Over the years, the competition has debuted many successful plants that remain popular with home gardeners and commercial nurseries to this day. The competition has evolved over time to cater to the latest trends and developments in the world of waterlilies.
 It was no different for 2020, as we had a diverse group of entries for the competition. The categories were expanded to separate intersubgeneric (ISG) into both Hardy ISG and Tropical ISG.

The entries were judged by a diverse group of professionals, ranging from beginners to experts and from waterlily enthusiasts to commercial growers.
 The added challenge for NWC 2020 was the COVID-19 outbreak across the world, which caused some interruptions in the delivery of entries to the NWC host growing site, Naples Botanical Gardens (Florida, USA). But overall, the competition was able to proceed successfully.
 For the 2020 competition, a total of 21 entries from waterlily hybridizers around the world were grown successfully at Naples Botanical Gardens under the supervision of Aquatic Areas Manager Danny Cox.

The NWC 2020 judging panel consisted of the following 16 judges:
 CuiWei Yu (Zhejiang Humanities Landscape Co Ltd, China) 
Dave Brigante (Hughes Water Gardens, USA)
 Gianluca Bonomo (Piante d’Acqua, Italy)
 Iain MacGregor (Water Garden Life, Australia)
 James Allison (Aquapic, UK)
 James Knock (hybridiser, UK)
 Javier Tarillo Egner (Vivero Acuático Naturalia, Argentina) 
Joe Summers (Chalily, USA)
 John Loggins (Lone Star Aquatic Nursery, USA)
Julien Baussay (Pepinieres de l’eau — Les filles du vent, France)
 Larry Nau (Bergen Water Gardens, USA) 
Richard Gallehawk (Dorset Water Lily Co, UK)
 Sander Dekker (The Netherlands)
 Séverine Lyssens-Danneboom (Agua, Belgium)
 Tim Jennings (Longwood Gardens, USA)
 Tomas Escribano (Spain)

2020 IWGS Best Overall New Waterlily

• Nymphaea ‘Puttaraksa’ by Pairote Thongnum (Thailand)

2020 IWGS Best New Hardy Waterlily
1st Place

• 1st Place – Nymphaea ‘Puttaraksa’ by Pairote Thongnum (Thailand)

• 2nd Place
 – Nymphaea ‘Sriwipa’ by Wipawan Sriuram (Thailand)

• 3rd Place
 – Nymphaea ‘Malikan’ by Potjanee Thongbai (Thailand)



2020 IWGS Best New Tropical Day Blooming Waterlily

• 1st Place – Nymphaea ‘Pixie Dust’ by Florida Aquatic Nurseries (USA)

• 2nd Place
 -
 Nymphaea ‘Tida Sawana’ by Dachrat Wannaponnpanich (Thailand)

• 3rd Place
 – 
Nymphaea ‘Chompu Korakot’ by Korakott Pumpetch (Thailand)

2020 IWGS Best New Tropical Night Blooming Waterlily

• 1st Place
 Nymphaea ‘Wareelarp’ by Primlarp Wasuwat Chukiatman (Thailand)

• 2nd Place Nymphaea ‘Prajak Chok’ by Prajak Tumrarieng (Thailand)

2020 IWGS Best New Hardy Intersubgeneric (ISG) Waterlily

• 1st Place
 Nymphaea ‘Siam Pride’ by Pairat Songpanich, (Thailand)

• 2nd Place 
Nymphaea ‘Dark Valia’ by Andreas Protopapas (Cyprus)

• 3rd Place
 Nymphaea ‘Tip Panitima’ by Kanyaporn Inngam (Thailand)

2020 Best New Tropical Intersubgeneric (ISG) Waterlily

• 1st Place 
Nymphaea ‘Mae Wannee’ by Pornchai Sukkasemsamranjit (Thailand)

As with every competition, there was a lot of work and effort going on in the background to ensure that the event was completed successfully.

Last, but not least, we would like to formally recognize the IWGS board members and NWC committee members for their support and contribution.
 With everyone’s participation and cooperation, the NWC has continued to be very successful from year to year. Our committee members will now prepare for another year of exciting entries for the 2021 IWGS New Waterlily Competition.

Stay tuned for updates announced through the IWGS website (www.iwgs.org) and through the IWGS social media channels.