The amazing waterlily man of Cyprus
One of the world’s most spectacular collections of water lilies is housed in the Nicosia Municipal Gardens. They are the result of one man’s labour of love
Virtually unknown and uncelebrated among fellow Cypriots, Andreas Protopapas is highly placed in the field of waterlily hybridisation, ponds of the Royal Horticultural Society and in Kew Gardens even house some of his fantastic creations.
Andreas has won an impressive collection of awards and over the last four years his stunning hybrids have consistently been among the top three prize-winners of the US International Water Gardening Society (IWGS). A lifetime hobby cultivating and cross-pollinating different species and cultivars has brought great rewards: he has produced 12 new hybrids over the last few years, which really is quite astonishing.
His breathtaking lilies, with large, multi-petalled flower heads are a truly magnificent contribution to the waterlily gene pool.
In the ponds of the Nicosia Municipal Gardens one can enjoy seeing some of these eye-catching flowers. Here Andreas tends a wonderful collection of his exotic hybrids for the benefit of the public. Nowhere else in the world can you see such a collection of these rare plants.
His passion was triggered from a childhood memory of his father taking him to a water garden in London. Thus the seeds for his fascination with water were sown. Like lilies, the seeds were slow to germinate and in 1985 his hobby began in earnest. He started simply, with an aquarium, but soon moved on to ponds and then waterlilies.
Andreas’ first pond was at his parent’s home in Larnaca, where he started with a red, a yellow and a white waterlily, but was unable to find others more interesting. He applied for an import license so he could bring new varieties into Cyprus, the first coming from Holland, followed by some from the UK and finally from the USA.
His plant collection soon outgrew the small concrete pond so Andreas improvised with temporary wooden boxes covered with polyethylene sheets. A better solution was urgently needed. In 1989 he bought land on which to build large ponds. Six were dug, two being covered to create greenhouses in which to grow tropical varieties.
Large plastic pots were also acquired to house the burgeoning collection. Careful labelling of all plants had to be maintained.
Indigenous Mosquito fish were added to all water containers to eliminate mosquito infestation. The entire project was blossoming but becoming a huge undertaking for one man. Undaunted, Andreas ploughed on, beginning his first cross-pollinations in 1990. The process of producing a new plant involves many stages over a great period of time. The work is extremely laborious but Andreas epitomises the meaning of patience, dedication and determination.
Pollen is transferred from a selected donor plant, classed as male, to a selected recipient plant, classed as female. Andreas has to be there when the flower opens to ensure no bee pollinates the flower before he does. The flower is then netted and labelled to prevent any further pollination. Meticulous records are kept from the start. Parent names and the date and time of pollination are important for future reference.
Seeds from successful pollinations will be generated after a month. They are gathered and stored in jars of water. These may take up to seven years to sprout. They are then transferred to pots of soil kept under water. It takes several months for surface leaves to appear and up to another two years before flowers are produced.
Only when the flowers bloom will Andreas know whether a plant is worth keeping. It will then be officially named as a new hybrid. But even the chances of that happening are not high: he performs more than 150 crosses every year. Of these, probably only 20 produce seeds. Out of thousands of seeds planted probably only ten will make it to maturity. His hobby, he says, is simply a labour of love. Most crosses produce inferior flowers so only one unique plant a year is likely to be obtained.
His first new hardy yellow hybrid was achieved in 1993. He named it Nymphaea Maria after his daughter. Many others have followed since. In 2004 Nymphaea Niki won second prize along with Nymphaea Aphrodite and Nymphaea Efestus coming joint third in the IWGS contest. In 2005 Nymphaea Maria took first prize. In 2006 Nymphaea Niki won second prize and in 2007 Nymphaea John Wedgewood took second prize.
In Nicosia in the summer, Andreas’ fabulous flowers give a vibrant display of colour and beauty in the Municipal Gardens. Be privileged to be one of the lucky few who have yet set eyes on these wonderful new plants.
