This section of the web site reviews each year of our adventure, with details not found in other sections of the site -- things like plant and flower numbers, successes and failures, big and small things we've learned. It also discusses things we want to do, things we want to know, things we speculate about. It is sequential, often with questions raised one year answered the next. We don't go back and rewrite. Our Adventure With Victoria 2008 The Astounding Growth Rate of Victoria cruziana by Kit & Ben Knotts - Click images to enlarge

	It happens every year but we haven't before recorded at the right time to illustrate it. It is the very rapid growth rate of V. cruziana when "turned loose" (planted in pond bottoms from usually 6" [15cm] pots). The first three pictures were taken July 10. The plant in the image at the upper left perhaps shows this growth the best, jumping from a 7" (18cm) pad to 29" (74cm) in five pads, about three weeks. Next is the cruziana that was a breeding plant in Reflection last year, just barely survived the winter and has been reinstalled in Dune as part of our experiment with older plant vs. younger plant growth rates. This is the only adult cruziana we have even brought over from the previous season. The image at the left shows pads 21", 30" and 42" (53, 76 and 107cm). It achieved 50" (127cm), larger than its maximum size in 2007. Dwarfing all competition was this cruziana in Reflection. The picture shows pads from 21" to 59" (53 to 150cm) with #6 still expanding. This explosion occurred in about 30 days. These were far and away the largest cruziana pads we have ever had, eclipsing our previous record by more than 17" (43cm). It ultimately had pads of 68" (173cm), bigger than even the hybrids in record size.

Ten days after the images above were taken, the mad cruziana threatens to take over Reflection. Four pads exceed 60" (152cm) and the rims are more than 6" (15cm). Without the third dimension of depth, its hard to see how big these pads are. Trust us, they are huge.