Another Camellia

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other Camellia graces our east flower bed not far from where our tea plant is located. This east bed is one of our favorites because it gets good sun all morning and is sheltered by the harsher afternoon sun. Being up next to the house, extra warmth is provided in winter. This last feature is important to all in the genus Camellia, as most are just barely hardy this far north. A couple of decades ago extensive Camellia hybridization programs were producing varieties that were more cold hardy. One USDA project, headed by Dr. David Ackerman gave us a series of Camellia hybrids, named the “Winter” series. Each selection has the word “Winter” in its name. The one we chose for our landscape was the bright pink variety “Winter’s Star”.

My wife was out Wednesday shooting the lovely fall colors around our place, and noticed the first open bloom of our “Winter’s Star”. We hope you like it. It is not a large shrub, only about 30 inches all around. It should grow a bit larger with time. It will bloom well into November, provided there’s no early winter blast. Any freezing temps overnight will only sully the open or about-to-open blooms; the tight blooms will go ahead and open up on subsequent days.

Have a good weekend, and I hope to see you in church on Sunday.