These pads can grow up to 10 feet in diameter and hold the weight of an adult.
Longwood distributes its surplus hybrid seeds to public gardens around the world, but they aren’t readily available commercially.
That makes them highly sought after and many gardens are on a waiting list, Thomas said. Brookgreen receives its seeds from New Orleans Botanical Garden.
Grid-like cells on the underside of the lilies create air pockets that allow them to stay buoyant and support weight, Bendetti said. The larger the lily, the more air pockets, and the more weight that can be supported.
Sharp, thorny spines around the cells protect the lilies from predators.
“Underneath is kind of cool because they’re very dangerous,” Bendetti said.
Brookgreen’s aquaculture team plants the lily seeds in a bucket and then transfers them to a pool. A root system grows within the buckets and collects nutrients to sustain the plant. The pads floating on the water’s surface take in sunlight and allow the plants to photosynthesize.
A Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’ Giant Waterlily pad has red spikes on the underside at Brookgreen Gardens on Aug. 27, 2025. The Georgetown County gardens is in a competition, the Waterlily Weigh-Off, with 40 public gardens and zoos across nine countries to see how much weight their waterlily pad can hold. The competition is led by Denver Botanic Gardens. Brookgreen weigh-in this year is 23 pounds, well behind the leader Florida’s Bok Tower Gardens with a weigh-in of 183 pounds.
Janet Morgan/Staff
Thorny, egg-shaped pods sprout from the lilies. Those will become flowers. During the day, the flowers are white. At night, they unfurl and turn pink. The blooms last for just two nights.
The lilies themselves are ephemeral, too. When winter comes, the lilies will die. They typically grow at Brookgreen from late May to October.
The lilies require a water temperature of at least 75 degrees to survive year-round, according to Missouri Botanical Garden, last year’s weigh-off winner. Some Gardens have heated pools which allow their lilies to withstand the winter months.
This year, the local lilies’ defense system fell short. Snails chewed small holes in their rims, which caused them to take on water quickly. Thomas said that’s likely why these lilies were weaker than last year’s. In the 2024 weigh-off, Brookgreen’s lilies were able to hold 43 pounds.
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