A giant water lily bloomed in Sochi

The size of its leaves is about a meter, the unique plant "Victoria Amazonian" grows in the park "Southern Cultures" of the Caucasian Reserve. Under natural conditions, such water lilies grow only in South America, their leaves can reach three meters, they can even withstand a person weighing up to 50 kilograms.

“Once upon a time, giant water lilies ‘Victoria Amazonian’ grew in one of the ponds of the Southern Cultures park. The conditions of the Sochi summer are suitable for them, but later these plants were lost. As a result, as part of the restoration of the collection, in 2020 we brought water lily seeds "Victoria Amazonian" from the botanical garden in St. Petersburg," explained Oksana Timchenko, engineer of the Southern Cultures park.

Giant water lilies are difficult to breed. Seeds from the northern capital in Sochi were brought in water at room temperature, then they were immersed in "hibernation" at a temperature of 5-7 degrees, and later they were transferred to water with a temperature of more than 20 degrees. To avoid rotting, the pool was provided with filters. To germinate the water lily after the appearance of roots and leaves, a special soil was used. As a result, the giant water lily took root and released a bud.