Plants in Water Lily Weigh-off Have Connection to Longwood Gardens

Some "heavy lifters" at a recent water lily weigh-off competition has local roots. 

While Longwood Gardens' water lily “lifted” 165 pounds in the weigh-off, it was not enough to win the competition. That honor went to the Bok Tower Gardens, whose water lilies held 183 pounds. Regardless, the Chester County botanical garden shares some horticultural roots with the 48 water lily competitors.

Longwood Gardens shares seeds from its water plants with more than 40 gardens, including the top three in the water lily challenge. The seed-sharing ensures the survival of species in case of issues such as extreme weather, according to Tim Jennings, the horticultural specialty grower at Longwood.

According to Lancaster Online, the weigh-off began in 2023, when the Denver Botanic Garden challenged gardens worldwide to submit their strongest lily pad. The water lily challenge included nymphaea species, known as water lilies, and Victoria, known as water-platters.

Several decades ago, Longwood created the biggest Victoria water platter species, a plant that some of the garden competitors entered in this year's challenge.

Despite having a world-class water plant collection, Longwood Gardens did not weigh in. The site recently underwent a $250 million renovation project that transformed the gardens. During the renovation, Longwood sent its giant water lilies to other gardens during the construction.

This spring, the renovated Water Lily Court reopened with changes that allowed Longwood to grow and showcase more plants in the 130-variety collection more easily.

Longwood's public relations manager, Jourdan Cole, said that Longwood's water lilies will be on display into October. 

In addition to the water lilies, Longwood is also featuring the following events this fall:

More details about these events are available on Longwood Gardens' website.