the wild world of water lilies, with nybg’s marc hachadourian
From A Way To Garden
RATHER THAN digging in, let’s wade into our topic this week—because the subject is water lilies. How did I know so little about these incredible plants? If you follow any botanical gardens on social media, you’ve probably seen how the giant tropical Victoria water lilies, with their massive pads, have gone viral in recent summers thanks to a competition called the “Waterlily Weigh-Off” that tests how much weight those ingeniously designed leaves can bear without sinking. One participant, New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, has been cultivating and stewarding and showing off these dramatic plants since long before the virtual rivalry began. Marc Hachadourian, Director of Glasshouse Horticulture there and also a leading expert on orchids, filled me in about both the tropical and hardy species in NYBG’s collection—and what all the fuss is about—and also some of the secrets of how aquatic plants work, anyhow. The story of the water lily is a fascinating one, whether you grow them or not. NYBG is currently staging an exhibit called Flower Power, and a display of tropical water lilies outside the conservatory is just one part of that show. Read along as you listen to the Aug. 17, 2026 edition […] The post the wild world of water lilies, with nybg’s marc hachadourian appeared first on A Way To Garden.
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