Nymphaea ‘Malikan’ – Medium Water Lily

Description

This variety from Thai breeder Potjanee Thongbai was awarded 3rd place in the 2020 International Water Garden Society hardy water lily competition. It has solid pink color like ‘Pink Beauty’ or ‘Bob Ross’ but with a much higher number of petals. We’ve found it to be a bit of an odd lily though. It often doesn’t open fully wide which takes away from the beauty of the flower. We first obtained the lily in 2022 so, here in 2024, it’s had a full year to settle in, and it’s hesitancy to open fully can’t fully be explained by youth. We’re going to give it another year to see how it performs, but with many new, collection-worthy varieties coming out every year, it’s on a short leash.