Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment lilies with large leaves

I have seen a lily, that has very large leaves, that lay on the water with the edges turned straight up. Kind of like plates. I am not sure where I saw them, possibly the Discovery Channel. Does anyone know what type of lily this is, and if it is suitable for the Houston area?

These are tropical lilies. I am not sure of the mimimum temerature requirements. The name of it is Victoria cruziana. Leaves can get 4' to 6 ' across and largest leaves can support 60 lbs of weight. Single plant can span 15' to 30'. Probably invasive. Produces seeds.

I have seen this very striking lily at Calloway Gardens near Columbus, GA, a location which would be cooler than the Houston area. They were being grown in pots in maybe 3 ft. of water in a cove which is part of a 60 acre lake. I was told that they died back in winter and came back in spring. I saw no evidence of invasion and some of the pots were empty, indicating that some of the lilies had died out. As memory serves, the origin of these was Brazil.
Lou

Try this site, more than you ever wanted to know, but extremely interesting. I found it when I was trying to establish water lilies in my pond earlier this year.
http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Wetlands/WaterLilies/WaterLily.html

I suspect that the waterlilies you have in mind, Rad, are Victorias. If you google "Victoria waterlily" you will find out all about them. You could probably grow them in Thailand very successfully due to the tropical climate provided they are not illegal to import. They are from the Amazon. One thing that you cannot easily glean from the online info is how thorny they are on the undersurface of the leaves and along the stems. They are like a very bad cactus and cannot be approached by swimmers. Nothing large can eat them due to the thorns. I have grown them in my pond in Oklahoma several times on a seasonal basis.

Yup, Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid' may have been what you saw.

Lilypads to 8' across spreading 40' wide, these overwinter as seed only.

If you can keep your water at 85°-90°f long enough, you stand a chance of getting them up to full size...

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

Thanks for the informations. I will try to get some seeds and plant them next year. It looks like they should be planted up to 18" deep, so they probably will not spread to the deeper parts of the pond.