Yes Holly I grow the Victoria water lilly until the water temps drop to 50 and then it becomes mush here too. I bought one of the Longvue lilies this year and it has not done anything. The leaves are as pretty as the true Victoria and they haven't gotten over 12" for some reason. I am very disappointed in it. But b/c it has stayed so small I am gonna attempt to put it in a kiddy pool in my GH and see if I can over winter it there and maybe next year it will do better. Here is a picture of the true Victoria in my pond a couple years ago.
1st night the Victoria blooms white
The second night it blooms pink
