[va-richmond-general] Re: Cold Hardy Camellias

Thanks so much, Naseem.

Nelda


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Naseem Reza 
To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 2/17/2006 2:30:59 PM 
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Cold Hardy Camellias


Some interest was expressed at last night's RAS meeting about the name of my 
camellia plant that attracted the Rufous Hummingbird. Attached is an 
interesting article on the camellias by the hybridizer, Dr. Bill Ackerman. The 
Chinese character interspersed throughout the article represents tea or 
Camellia sinensis.

The camellia that attracted the Rufous is called Winter's Star. I also grow 
Snow Flurry which is very pretty but because the flowers are white, probably 
will not attract hummingbirds. I also have Ackerman's Pink Icicle which blooms 
in early Spring and as the name suggests, it is pink.

These camellias are available locally. I bought mine at Strange's near Short 
Pump.

Naseem

The International Camellia Society
[ Trailer ] [ Hardy Camellias ] 


C AMELLIAS FOR C OLD C LIMATES 
William L. Ackerman 
A TRULY COLD-HARDY camellia has long been a dream of northern gardeners.  Even 
in the milder areas of the mid-Atlantic region, where camellias have been grown 
for many years, cold hardiness has become a concern.  At the U.S. National 
Arboretum, in Washington, D.C. (USDA Zone 7a), where I conducted my research on 
camellias, we would occasionally get a hard winter freeze that did some plant 
damage, but rarely would any of the spring-blooming Camellia japonica or 
fall-blooming C.sasanqua cultivars be killed.  Farther south, damage to the 
plants themselves was almost unknown, although there might be cases of flower 
bud injury. 

The whole concept of cold hardiness changed for us following the winters of 
1977 - 78 and 1978 - 79, when temperatures fell as low as -2 degrees 
Fahrenheit, accompanied by strong, drying winds.  Among the arboretum's 
nationally recognized collection of more than 900 specimens, most C.sasanqua 
cultivars were killed outright that first winter, and the C.japonica cultivars 
were badly injured.  Even C.japonica cultivars considered to be the most hardy, 
such as 'Bernice Boddy', 'Governor Mouton', 'Kumasaka', 'Lady Clare', and 'Pink 
Perfection', were devastated.  By 1980, the arboretum's once outstanding 
collection had been reduced to a half-dozen struggling plants and sprouting 
stumps.  There was, however, a notable exception: a specimen of the 
fall-blooming C.oleifera, a white-flowered species introduced in 1948 from 
northern China.  It came through both of those brutal winters unscathed and has 
done so every winter since, blooming normally despite severe temperatures. 

Camellia oleifera is widely grown in the Orient, not as an ornamental, but as a 
source of seeds, which are pressed to produce cooking oils. (Indeed, the Latin 
epithet oleifera means "oil bearing".)  The oil is also used as a hair dressing 
and in cosmetics. The plant's virtues as a cold-hardy parent, however, were not 
immediately obvious.  For although this camellia makes a handsome evergreen 
shrub with an upright habit and glossy dark green foliage, its single flowers 
shatter badly when cut and even when left on the plant. 

Nevertheless, given the proven hardiness of the arboretum specimen, it seemed 
only natural to test other sources of this species.  We secured five strains of 
C.oleifera that had been collected throughout the Orient.  Of these, only one 
was comparable in hardiness to our plant.  Indeed, one strain from Taiwan was 
even more tender than many varieties of C.sasanqua. 

Once we had established that the arboretum's plant would make the best parent, 
the breeding program began in earnest.  Between 1979 and 1981, 2,500 
interspecific hybrids were made between the arboretum's C.oleifera and various 
C.sasanqua and C.x hiemalis cultivars.  In addition, a series of C.oleifera 
hybrids I made in 1969 during a species compatibility study were back-crossed 
to C.oleifera.  The entire group was greenhouse grown until 1982 and then 
planted out for field testing at 14 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia.  Protection from the 
elements varied at the individual sites, ranging from an overstory of mature 
pines or deciduous trees to lath and shade houses. 

We made a second series of crosses between 1980 and 1984, which resulted in 
more C.oleifera hybrids.  This time, however, spring flowering parents 
including C.japonica and C.x williamsii were used.  Field evaluation and 
selection among these hybrids is still being carried out, so several years will 
be needed before any of these are named and introduced. 

Since 1982, the breeding program has concentrated on evaluating individual 
plants at the various locations for their cold hardiness.  Thus far, they have 
experienced minimum temperatures ranging from -4 degrees to -15 degrees F.  
Perhaps the most severe test occurred during the third week of January 1985, 
when temperatures, which had been very moderate (40 to 50 degrees F), suddenly 
plunged to between -10 and -17 degrees F. Plants that showed little or no 
injury were then judged for their flower quality and overall marketability. 

We have concluded that the fall-blooming hybrid camellias are most valuable as 
landscape plants, attractive as their flowers are.  In the landscape, they are 
far more appealing than most cultivars of C.japonica: Their leaves are smaller 
and, in most cases, a shiny dark green.  Most will also flower at an early age 
-- some the second year from rooted cuttings.  And although they are not meant 
to produce show flowers, they will not all shatter after being cut, unlike most 
C.sasanqua cultivars.  In fact, the cut flowers of certain hybrids can last as 
long as four days. 

Because the last three years have been relatively mild, these hybrids began to 
flower in my Maryland garden in early October, and the plants had at least some 
blossoms out every week through the first week in January. 
During November and December we have had some hard freezes that browned all the 
open flowers, yet, following a change to more moderate temperatures, many of 
the more immature buds came into bloom. 

My guess is that most of the breeding and development work for cold-hardy, 
fall-flowering hybrids has been completed.  There is now a substantial group of 
these plants that is capable of withstanding comparatively severe winters, and 
of bearing flowers of equal or better quality than those of existing C.sasanqua 
cultivars.  In selecting hybrids worthy of commercial distribution, we have 
made an effort to provide a diversity of flower and plant forms.  The flower 
shapes include single, semidouble, formal double, peony, anemone, and rose 
forms, in colors ranging from white through various shades of pink to lavender. 
(As yet, there are no true reds.)  The plants themselves may be compact and 
upright, spreading, or pendulous; 12-year-old specimens are typically five to 
eight feet in height, depending on the cultivar. 

These cultivars are now being successfully established in areas where camellias 
were not previously grown outdoors.  New England has never been considered 
"camellia country," yet these plants are thriving in coastal regions of 
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.  A hardy camellia is no longer a 
dream.  Gardeners who live in areas where the winter extremes do not fall below 
-10 degrees F (Zone 6a), and where some protection from winter wind and early 
morning sun can be provided, should be encouraged to try these durable and 
exciting hybrids. 



The following nine fall-flowering selections have been named and are available 
from retail nurseries: 
'Polar Ice'
White, medium-size flowers, anemone form, very late blooming; spreading habit 
'Snow Flurry'
White, medium-size flowers, anemone to peony form, very early blooming, smaller 
flowers than 'Polar Ice', very floriferous; spreading habit 
'Winter's Charm'
Lavender-pink, medium-size flowers, full peony form, early blooming; upright 
habit 
'Winter's Dream'
Pink, medium-size flowers, semidouble, midseason; compact, upright habit 
'Winter's Hope'
White, medium-size flowers, semidouble, late blooming; spreading habit 
'Winter's Interlude'
Lavender-pink, medium-size flowers, anemone form, midseason; upright habit 
'Winter's Rose'
Shell-pink, miniature flowers, rose-form double, very floriferous, very early 
blooming; small leaves, slow, compact, spreading habit 
'Winter's Star'
Reddish pink, some with white centers, medium-size flowers, single, midseason; 
compact, upright habit 
'Winter's Waterlily'
White, medium-size flowers, formal double, slightly incurving petals, late 
blooming; upright habit 


William L. Ackerman, a research horticulturist retired from the U.S. National 
Arboretum in Washington, D.C., still maintains an active interest in camellia 
hybridization and propagation. (K.P./P.L.L.S.) 
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