Ghent: (Brussels Morning) – The Ghent University Botanical Garden grows giant Victoria water lilies from seeds requiring warm temperatures and constant moisture to thrive. Visitors can admire the massive leaves and night-blooming flowers from June to October.
In the Ghent botanical garden they grow giant water lilies every year from seeds collected from the previous year’s plants. These lilies usually live all year in South America where the weather is always good for them. But in Ghent the lilies don’t get enough light in the winter so they die because they need more light to survive. To make the giant water lily seeds grow they need to be in a warm place like around 30 degrees Celsius all the time. It’s also important to keep the seeds wet all the time. This warm and wet environment helps the seeds start growing and become big plants when they are shown in the botanical garden.
What Makes the Victoria Longwood Hybrid a Botanical Wonder?
The Victoria longwood hybrid is a big and amazing water lily that’s a mix of two other types of lilies. Its leaves can be really huge like 8-10 feet across with edges that stick up to help them float and hold a lot of weight. Underneath the leaves there are strong ribs that make them tough and able to float. The flowers of this hybrid are also beautiful. They start off white when they bloom at night and then turn pink or red the next night. These flowers smell sweet and fruity attracting insects that come out at night to pollinate them. To grow the Victoria longwood hybrid in botanical gardens they make the conditions like its natural home, warm, shallow water, and muddy soil. These conditions help the plant grow well and look amazing. This hybrid plant is special because it can adapt to different environments and its large size and beauty make it a favorite in botanical gardens. Environmentalist said that It attracts visitors and shows how plants can be combined to create new varieties which helps in plant research and gardening. The Victoria plant named after Queen Victoria shows how much people care about preserving and displaying the beauty of nature.
How Did an Accidental Fertilizer Mix Lead to Botanical Discoveries in Ghent?
The intern made a mistake and mixed up all the fertilizers together so now they can’t test them one by one as they wanted. When all the fertilizers got mixed together by accident the water lilies grew much bigger than usual like a whole meter larger. The leaves turned super green and strong .People are really excited about the garden now because of the amazing growth of the water lilies. Visitors and researchers are coming to see this surprising plant miracle. The unexpected success of the mixed fertilizer has made the garden rethink their original plan. Some are thinking about trying out more different combinations of fertilizers in the future to see what other benefits they might discover for gardening.
It has been said that people can visit the garden all summer from 9:30 to 16:30 and it’s free to go in. They don’t have to book a time slot but they can if you want. For the best view of the water lilies go in the next few months. By September-October the leaves will get smaller again as the season changes. In autumn the plants disappear the pond gets cleaned and seeds are collected. Then the whole cycle starts over.
