The Waterlily Weigh-Off 2025

The Waterlily Weigh-Off, led by Denver Botanic Gardens, challenges an impressive list of public gardens and zoos around the world to see how much weight their Victoria waterlily leaves can hold. The third annual competition took place August 18-24, 2025, on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook with over 40 participants across nine countries. We kicked off the competition on August 18, and all other public gardens and zoos entered between August 19-24. The winner was announced on our social channels on August 28.  

Missouri Botanical Garden was the 2024 champion, with their leaf holding 142 pounds before it started to sink! We mailed them a trophy, and they will pass it on to the 2025 winner.

The social media competition went viral in 2024 and provides a playful opportunity to educate the public about the fascinating world of aquatic plants, specifically the waterlily species V. amazonica, V. cruziana and Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’. The leaves (lily pads or platters) of these tropical plants can grow up to a diameter of 10 feet and hold the weight of an adult. This remarkable strength comes from more than just trapped air: the leaves have a highly engineered network of radiating ribs and cross-veins on their underside. As these veins grow and expand, they create rigid compartments that both trap pockets of air and distribute weight across the entire surface. The upturned rims help keep water off the leaf, while the large size and sharp spines underneath prevent other plants from encroaching on their space.

The 2025 champion is Bok Tower Gardens from Florida, USA weighing in at a total of 183 lb. / 83 kg.! Right behind them, in second place, is our reigning 2024 champ, Missouri Botanical Garden, with a total weight of 182 lb. / 82.6 kg.! Third place goes to Huntsville Botanical Garden with a total weight of 176 lb. / 79.8 kg.

Confirmed Competitors

You can find their video entries on Instagram, Facebook and/or TikTok.

Atlanta Botanical Garden (Georgia, USA), 77 lb. / 34.9 kg.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (England), 75.4 lb. / 34.2 kg.
Bok Tower Gardens (Florida, USA), 183 lb. / 83 kg.
Botanischer Garten Augsburg (Germany), 0.095 lb. / 0.043 kg.
Botanica, The Wichita Gardens (Kansas, USA), 42.5 lb. / 19.3 kg.
Botanisk hage Oslo (Norway), 40.8 lb. / 18.5 kg.
Bristol Botanic Garden (England), 15.4 lb. / 7 kg.
Brookgreen Gardens (South Carolina, USA), 23 lb. / 10.4 kg.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (New York, USA), 30 lb. / 13.6 kg.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden (England), 26 lb. / 11.8 kg.
Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois, USA), 25.25 lb. / 11.45 kg.
Cleveland Botanical Garden (Ohio, USA), “100,000 lb.”
Como Zoo Conservatory (Minnesota, USA), 71.51 lb. / 32.4 kg.
Conservatory of Flowers (California, USA), two ceramic frogs
Denver Botanic Gardens (Colorado, USA), 50 lb. / 22.7 kg.
Desert City (Spain), 59.5 lb./ 27 kg.
The Eden Project (England), 15.6 lb. / 7.073 kg.
Espace pour la vie (Canada), 50 lb. / 22.7 kg.
Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (Ohio, USA), 5.8 lb. / 2.6 kg.
The Hudson Gardens (Colorado, USA), 21 lb. / 9.5 kg.
The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens (California, USA), 12 tiny sand bags
Huntsville Botanical Garden (Alabama, USA), 176 lb. / 79.8 kg.
Longwood Gardens (Pennsylvania, USA), 165 lb. / 74.8 kg.
McKee Botanical Gardens (Florida, USA), 44 lb. / 20 kg.
Middleton Hall Gardens (England), 0.024 lb. / 0.01 kg.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (Minnesota, USA), 0.07 lb. / 0.03 kg.
Missouri Botanical Garden (Missouri, USA), 182 lb. / 82.6 kg.
The Morton Arboretum (Illinois, USA), 12 toy frogs
Naples Botanical Garden (Florida, USA), 30 lb. / 13.6 kg.
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill (Massachusetts, USA), 30 lb. / 13.6 kg.
New Orleans Botanical Garden (Louisiana, USA), 73 lb. / 33.1 kg.
New York Botanical Garden (New York, USA), 100 lb. / 45.4 kg.
Powell Gardens (Missouri, USA), 30 lb. / 13.6 kg.
Redleaf Exotics (Tennessee, USA), 115 lb. / 52.16 kg.
Royal Botanical Gardens Canada (Ontario, Canada), 3 stones & an acorn
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (Scotland), 79.6 lb. / 36.1 kg.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (England), 168.7 lb. / 76.5 kg.
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney (Australia), 0.02 lb. / 0.01 kg. or “ten men”
San Diego Botanic Garden (California, USA), 0 lb. / 0 kg.
Sarah P. Duke Gardens (North Carolina, USA), 90 lb. / 40.8 kg.
Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden (South Africa), “all of the Anthropocene”
The Toledo Zoo (Ohio, USA), 31 lb. / 14.1 kg.
University of Bonn Botanic Garden (Germany), 154 lb. / 70 kg.
University of California, Davis, Botanical Conservatory (California, USA), 80 lb. / 36.3 kg.
University of California, Los Angeles, Mathias Botanical Garden (California, USA), 0.007 lb. / 0.003 kg, a.k.a. one gummy bear
U.S. Botanic Garden (Washington D.C., USA), lots of fluff
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (Florida, USA), 30 lb. / 13.6 kg.
Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center (New York, USA), 39 lb. / 17.7 kg.