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>First Cousins of the Water-LiliesSpecies and VarietiesHow the Lotus GrowsCultivationAvailable Lotus VarietiesGenus Nuphar-SpatterdockNuphar Lotus VarietiesOther genera of Nymphaeaceae might be considered as first cousins of the hardy and tropical water-lilies. Like cousins, these various showy flowering plants bear the same family name and have a certain family resemblance. Unlike cousins, they do not spring from a common ancestor, but are grouped under one family name merely because they have developed along the same lines and have in common various structural characteristics and habits. (The family also has its plainer genera, including the Fanworts or Water-Shields, Cabomba, which have not yet developed into recognizable water-lily forms.) All of the genera we now describe can correctly be called water-lilies-and often are. Each group, however, has special characteristics, and these differentiate it from the others. Genus Victoria-Grandest of All I include this magnificent plant with academic rather than practical intent, since few nonprofessionals have time, space, or patience to cultivate it. Gardeners for estates and public parks, however, will find it worthwhile for it is the most spectacular of all the aquatics. And if you live near a park or garden in which a Victoria is growing you will find the sight of it well worth the effort of a Saturday or Sunday excursion. Certainly hundreds of people drive miles on late summer weekends to see the Victorias we cultivate at Lilypons.
Plate 25. The Victoria regia is the most spectacular plant of the water-lily family with huge, cup-shaped bloom, having a strong fragrance of crushed pineapple, and tremendous floating leaves. The flower, about to emerge from the four-inch bud shown near the center of the photograph, opens creamy white and changes, through deepening shades of pink, to deep purple-red.
The foliage is striking, for the leaves often measure 6 feet or more across with edges turning up to form a straight-sided rim. Leaves are rich green above and appear to be quilted in a geometric pattern. Underneath they are purplish-green and heavily marked with thick, barbed veins radiating from the center. The compartments formed by the network of veins are filled with a gas generated by the leaf cells. It is this gas trapped in the leaf that makes it so buoyant. SEEDS TO POOL Although it is perennial, the Victoria has to be treated as an annual and must be given more of practically everything-sun, space, heat, time, patience, and care-than any other aquatic. Seeds are gathered in fall and stored in bottles of water to keep them from drying out, which would be death. The hard shells are punctured by filing or cutting and then planted in January or February, in shallow pans of fine, unfertilized soil with 3 to 4 inches of water. At this stage they are kept at 80 to 85 degrees and exposed to full sunlight. The more active seeds begin to germinate in two to three weeks. As soon as seedlings form the second tiny leaves, they are moved to submerged 3-inch pots filled with a mixture of two-thirds screened soil and one-third rotted cow manure. As plants grow, they are moved to larger and larger pots, finally reaching 1O-inch sizes when they are ready to set outdoors in the pool. Victorias have to have a basin at least 30 feet across and 3 feet deep in the center. They must have rich, nourishing food and plenty of it to produce their immense leaves and blooms. Therefore planting receptacles must have minimum dimensions of 12 by 12 feet and a depth of 1 1/2 feet, and be filled with the same mixture of heavy loam and fertilizer required by the hardy and tropical water-lilies. (See Chapter 8.) Victorias are set into the soil, much as tropicals are, and buried up to their growing points. Planted outdoors in full sun as soon as the season has become consistently hot, Victorias begin producing foliage quickly, but the blooms usually do not develop until well into August. Only three forms are in cultivation, and these are comparatively rarely grown. Continue to Species and Varieties |
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