The International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society (IWGS) is proud to announce the results of the 2023 New Waterlily Competition (NWC).
Double Feature
To ensure the best conditions for all categories of waterlilies, we opted to divide the competition between 2 different growing locations. The hardy and hardy ISG waterlilies were grown in a more temperate site at Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania) with Senior Horticulturist Suzanne Boom and Horticultural Specialty Grower Tim Jennings, while the tropical waterlily categories continued to be grown at Naples Botanical Garden (Naples, Florida) with Curator of Special Collections Matthew Herrman.
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 collected 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.
The 2023 New Waterlily Competition was held this year for the 25th time. It has been one of the flagship events of the society since 1997. The competition is open to all hybridizers, and this year, contestants from six different countries submitted their new waterlily hybrid for evaluation in one of the following five categories: Hardy, Tropical Day Blooming, Hardy Intersubgeneric (ISG), Tropical ISG and Tropical Night Blooming Waterlily.
Hardy Waterlilies
1st place: N.’Golden Gate’ – Khwanyok Khamklang, Thailand
2nd place: N. ‘Treesuwan’ – Somchan Treesuwan, Thailand
3rd place: N. ‘Valentine’s Day’ – Pornchai Sukkasemsamranjit, Thailand
Tropical Day Blooming Waterlilies
1st place: N. ‘Wichitra’ – Wipawan Sriuram, Thailand
2nd place: N. ‘Zi Lan’ – Weiqiang Yuan, China
3rd place: N.’ Chaiyaphum’ – Arun Kobkaew, Thailand
Hardy Intersubgeneric Waterlilies
1st place: N. ‘U Bon Thep’ – Prajak Tamrarueng, Thailand
2nd place: N. ‘Jardin Nelumbo’ – Florian Henaux, France
3rd place: N. ‘ Violet Beauty’ – Andreas Protopapas, Cyprus
Tropical Night Blooming Waterlilies
1st place: N. ‘Papasarathorn’ – Pang U Bon, Thailand
Tropical Intersubgeneric Waterlilies
1st place: N. ‘New Poem of the Nile’ – Zijun Li, China
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the hybridizers for offering their creations for evaluation. We offer our sincere gratitude to the judges who volunteered their time to examine these hybrids and made many tough decisions. Our thanks also go 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 providing the location and staff to ensure its success. We could not have done this without you.
If you would like to see past winners or submit your hybrid into the 2024 competition, please visit iwgs.org/new-waterlily-competition/.
