We saw pictures of his hybrids circulating on the internet and became very interested in the story of this Chinese hybridiser Zijun Li.
When he won first price with his Nymphaea Detective Erika at the 2016 IWGS New Waterlily Competition, we thought it was the perfect time to take action. Zijun immediatly answered our questions and so we can tell you a little bit more about this 21 year old student from Guangzhou, China.
He was born on the 11th of February 1995 and is studying at the Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Landscape design faculty and he will be graduated in May 2017. He really is the first student we’ve interviewed and I’m almost sure he’s the first one to ever win such an important price!
He seems young, but it all started way earlier, he was only 4 years old when his intrest in ponds full of lotus and waterlilies started. His real passion for hybridizing started in 2005, when he was only 10 years old. It seems unbelievable, at such a young age, but we have to admit the results are amazing!
His first waterlily ever was Nymphaea August Koch, bought by his grandma from a local flower shop. His favourit waterlily is the beautiful, but not very wellknown Nymphaea Brocade Star from Padma, his favourit hybridizer.
He used to have more than 90 waterlilies and 30 lotus, but because of the lack of space, he only has 20 waterlilies and 3 lotus left. Everything is cultivated on the roof garden in tubs and pots, no ponds whatsoever. The seedlings are cultivated in aquatic tanks indoor. We often wonder if there are any of us that don’t have a few waterlilies we nurse indoors…
His goal in hybrdizing is to have plants with beautiful flecked leaves and nice flowers, that’s why he likes to use Nympaea Arc-en-ciel for hybridizing. Also because it sets seeds very easily, just like Nymphaea Green Smoke, Nymphaea atrans, Nymphaea Trail Blazer, Nymphaea caerulea and last but not least the Nymphaea mexicana.
Of all the places he visited he loved the Lotus Mountain in Guanghzou the most. On his to-visit list is Rajamangala University, the University where our dear friend Dr. Nopchai Chansilpa works. We would love to visit both places too.
We were wondering how he came up with the name Nymphaea Detective Erika, so Zijun answered:
“It was named after one of my favourite novel characters. Different from most of the NXB waterlilies in the market, it could produce many huge flowers over 20cm simultaneously. What’s more, its neat petals are always without hook and also, this plant is flourishing and totally hardy!”
We asked Zijun for a list of his own hybrids and, honestly, we didn’t even know he also cultivates lotuses. His miniature Nelumbo Mumian Hong is a true beauty and his Nelumbo Yueguang Qu was already registered in 2007. We were even more surprised by the nice varieties we never heard of like Nymphaea Mint Atmosphere, Nymphaea Treasure of Niel, Nymphaea Fancy Berry,…
And as you can see he even has a small Victoria in his rooftop garden!
Please enjoy the pictures of these beauties and their wonderful names.
Lotus:
Nelumbo Mumian Hong (as known as Nelumbo Kapok Red,2007),registered in 2013
Nelumbo Yueguang Qu(as known as Nelumbo Song of Moon,2007).
Waterlily:
subg.Nymphaea x subg.Brachyceras
Nymphaea Cherry Boom Boom (2012)
Nymphaea Beatrice (2012)
Nymphaea Confeito (2013)
Nymphaea Detective Erika (2013),registered in 2016
Nymphaea Bernkastel (2013)
subg.Nymphaea x subg.Nymphaea
Nymphaea Angel Beats (2014)
subg.Brachyceras x subg.Brachyceras
Nymphaea Subtropical Dream (2014)
subg.Anecphya x subg.Brachyceras
Nymphaea New poem of Niel (2015)
Nymphaea Shallow Spring (2015)
Nymphaea Fancy Berry (2015)
Nymphaea Mint Atmosphere (2015)
Nymphaea Treasure of Niel (2015)
We were really pleased with the answers and time given, we were even more surprised by what he has already accomplished.
We defnitly hope we can meet each other one day, maybe at Rajamangala University?
Thanks Zijun!
This article has been translated to Chinese, you can read it here.
