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James Knock, who lives in the United Kingdom, has been a dedicated collector of Strawn waterlily cultivars for many years and is an expert in their identification and cultivation. Most cultivars were obtained directly from Strawn Water Gardens in the years 1994 through 1998. In these galleries, James takes us through seasonal and age related changes in coloration of many Strawn cultivars. High summer in England, sometimes only two to three weeks long, provides the most dramatic colors of all, often not seen in other climates. None of the images have been color enhanced or color adjusted. |
to the
Brilliance of Kirk Strawn
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'Yuh Ling' 1992  |
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If you like the image of the classic water lily,
but are looking for something with more of a wow factor, 'Yuh
Ling' could be the one for you. Whilst the flower shape is fairly
traditional, the vivid coloration is certainly not. Of Kirk's
cultivars, only 'Mayla' and
'Celebration' share this
kind of intense fuchsia. When first planted 'Yuh Ling' will not produce blooms of this intensity, but as plants mature, the true glory begins to shine through. As with many varieties, the flower shape also evolves over this period, gradually becoming slightly stellate with more pointed petals.  One aspect I particularly like about 'Yuh Ling' is its fabulous leaves. New leaves open a glorious rich burgundy, maturing to deep green, but always maintaining that hint of burgundy. Lovely. This in turn does a wonderful job of setting off the flowers. This hybrid grows on a running rootstock (odorata) so requires a large container to do it justice. Alternatively it grows extremely well in earth bottomed ponds, where its roots can have total freedom to roam. Given this it is an excellent free flowering hybrid with a great future in water gardens across the world. |
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Previous Gallery
For shorter downloads:
N. 'Barbara Davies' through N. 'Clyde Ikins' | N. 'Colorado' through N. 'Liou'
N. 'Little Sue' through N. 'Pink Pumpkin' | N. 'Pink Sparkle' through N. 'Yuh Ling'