Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
Red-flowered Camellia japonica (introduction in process)
In my previous article, Fall-blooming Camellias Part 1, I showed you my camellias and provided some background on the development of these remarkable plants. Here I want to convey the astonishing variety of cultivars available for your fall garden.
On December 2 (before the freeze), I was privileged to visit the camellia collection of Swarthmore, PA, horticulturalist Charles Cresson who grows over 60 varieties. Charles not only showed me around his gardens, but helped me stage the photographs—thanks Charles. Here are some of the incredible specimens I saw.
Camellia x ‘Snow Flurry’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Dream’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Autumn Spirit’ (Camellia Forest Introduction)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Snowman’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Charm’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Scented Snow’ (Camellia Forest Introduction)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Beauty’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Cranberry-flowered Camellia (not introduced)
White-flowered Camellia (not introduced)
The two photos above are of cold hardy camellias that have never been offered for sale.
Red-flowered Camellia japonica (introduction in process)
Of all the camellias I saw during my visit, and there were many more than appear here, you can probably tell that the red-flowered camellia in the photographs above and at the top was my favorite. From its plentiful plump buds to its robust red flowers with bright yellow stamens to its dazzling dark evergreen leaves to its lush and luxurious habit, it is outstanding. It is a straight C. japonica species collected by the Morris Arboretum in 1984 on an island in Korea. The island is the most northern range of this species. Although technically a spring bloomer, it also flowers in fall. Charles hopes to introduce it for sale soon.
For more information on Ackerman hybrid camellias, read William Ackerman’s article “Camellias for Cold Climates”. For a wonderful selection of camellias from a nursery that hybridizes them, visit the Camellia Forest Nursery website. Camellia Forest is located in Chapel Hill, NC.
Carolyn
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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 