The Waterlily Weigh-Off

The Waterlily Weigh-Off, led by Denver Botanic Gardens, challenged an impressive list of public gardens and zoos around the U.S. and across the pond in the U.K. to see how much weight their Victoria waterlily leaves could hold. The second-annual competition took place in late August on Instagram and TikTok with 17 entries. The eligible waterlily species for the competition were Victoria amazonica, Victoria cruziana and Victoria ‘Longwood hybrid.’  

The leaves (lily pads or platters) of these tropical plants can grow up to 10 feet in diameter and hold the weight of a small adult. This is possible due to upturned rims of the leaves that keep water out and wide, hollow veins along the bottom of the leaf that are filled with air to support buoyancy. Sharp spines on the underside of the leaves destroy plants that encroach on their space.

Denver Botanic Gardens submitted as the first entry and weighed in strong at 65 pounds. The second entry, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, weighed in at a whopping 48 kg! (For us Americans, that is about 105.8 pounds.) They took the lead, but there were still 15 participants yet to enter.

Toledo Zoo and Aquarium’s entry won them the People’s Choice Award. They had two of their baby flamingos rest on the waterlily leaf before doing their official weigh-in with 38 pounds.

Public gardens that do not have these large waterlily species in their living collections were still invited to join the fun by making playful entries with their smaller specimens. Shout out to New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill, San Diego Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden for their creative entries. 

The competition ended on August 31 with entries from Naples Botanical Garden weighing in at 135 pounds and Missouri Botanical Garden weighing in at 142 pounds. Missouri Botanical Garden was the champion! We mailed them a special trophy they will keep until next year and then pass along to the 2025 winner.

The Official 2024 Waterlily Weigh-Off Ranking

1. Missouri Botanical Garden – 142.1lbs
2. Naples Botanical Garden – 135lbs  
3. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – 105.8lbs
4. New York Botanical Garden – 84lbs 
5. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew – 77lbs 
6. Atlanta Botanical Garden – 70lbs
7. Denver Botanic Gardens – 65lbs 
8. Chicago Botanic Garden – 55lbs 
9. Brookgreen Gardens – 43lbs
10. Ganna Walska Lotusland – 42lbs 
11. Toledo Zoo and Aquarium – 38lbs 
12. Fort Worth Botanic Garden – 32lbs
13. The Huntington – 31lbs 
14. The Hudson Gardens & Events Center – 18.5lbs 
15. Brooklyn Botanic Garden – 0.69lb 
16. New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill – 0.21lb
17. San Diego Botanic Garden – 0.00022lb
     

This article was contributed by Assistant Manager of Social Media and Communications Rachel Small-Brooks.