Common Name: Nymphaea 'Carla's Sonshine'
The naming of Nymphaea 'Carla's Sonshine' is an interesting story. Florida Aquatic Nursery gave the IWGS the right to auction off the naming of the waterlily as a fund raising event. Greg Witstock was the highest bidder for the right to name the tropical waterlily. Greg's wife Carla decided to name the lily Nymphaea 'Carla's Sonshine' after her sons, hence the unusual spelling of the word sonshine. We thought it was a terrific name benefiting of such a beautiful plant.
Nymphaea 'Carla's Sonshine' was hybridized in 2001 and released to the trade in 2004. It is a cross between an unnamed hybrid and N. 'Trail Blazer'. The unnamed tropical waterlily hybrid was a cross between N. 'Albert Greenberg' and N. 'Josephine'.
This waterlily is unique because it is the only viviparous yellow waterlily on the market today. It has a deep yellow flower with heavily mottled pads and a compact nature which is also unique for tropical yellow hybrids. To create this waterliliy was especially rewarding because their was a long term direct effort to create a yellow viviparous tropical waterlily since none existed.
Scientific name: Nymphaea x 'Carla's Sonshine'
Hardiness: Tropical
Flower Color: White
Pad Color: Green with purple mottleing
Size: Medium
Hybridizer: Florida Aquatic Nurseries 2001