Longwood Hybrid Victoria Water Lily

Steve and Rose went to Denver on August 11, 2002 to pick up a Victoria Water Lily. Nancy and Trey Styler have created the Longwood Hybrid Victoria. They have graciously donated one to the PPWGS to place in the Union Printers Home Pond. Here Dick Williams and Steve pull the package from the truck.

Dick and LaNell were there to record the event and help lift. A little video, digital for the web and photos for the scrapbook.

The Victoria was wrapped in wet newspapers and then in a damp tarp. The entire plant was kept as wet as possible for the trip from Denver. Unpacking was a tricky task considering all of the thorns.

Each of the two foot diameter leaves was unwrapped one at a time. Gloves were required for the thorns. Dick is holding the new leaf that has not unfolded. A fourth leaf was close to the rootball.

Once the leaves have all been unwrapped the Victoria is ready for potting. The rootball was potted in a 14 inch pot on top of a piece of liner material. The liner was lifted, supporting the rootball during the transplant operation. Once the rootball was in place, the liner material was removed.

After the rootball was in place the entire dirt surface was covered in pea gravel. This was more to weight down the rootball and a secondary purpose to keep the dirt in the pot. Dick and Steve then floated the large pot and Victoria to the desired location. 

Once the correct location was determined, the pot was sank. The bubbles came up for many minutes due to the large pot of soil. The leaves floated at approximately the same depth as they were originally.

Steve has his fingertips on the top of the dirt. The water is about eighteen inches deep over the top of the pot. The leaves all arrived in Colorado Springs in great shape. And thanks to Dick and LaNell the unwrapping was a success and on record.