Camellia Club of Mobile Newsletter
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume XI Issue 7 - Editor: Vera
Curry
April 2015 DON’T MISS APRIL 12th MEETING - LAST ONE
OF 2014-2015 CAMELLIA SEASON We are looking forward to seeing everyone
at our Meeting at Sunday, April 12, at the Mobile Botanical Gardens.
As usual we will have a panel of experienced camellia growers who will
answer all questions on taking care of your precious plants over the
summer season and how to best get them ready for their dramatic bloom
re-entry next fall. Information will be available on watering, planting,
fertilizing, pruning, bugs, etc. There will be paper available to write
down the names of fertilizers, pesticides, etc. that are recommended by
our experts. Don’t forget that we will also be holding
our annual Photo Competition, all members can take part, just don’t
enter any photo that you have previously entered in this competition.
There are four photograph categories as follows: 1. Camellia bloom(s).
2. Camellia(s) & people. 3. Camellia(s) in arrangement.
4. Camellia(s) in landscape. There will be a nice award for the winner
of each category. Photos do not have to be framed and can
be any size. We see some gorgeous pictures each year.
Winners are determined by anonymous votes from the members present, and
yes, you can vote for your own entry! The other important part of this final
Meeting of the 2014/2015 Camellia Season is the Election of Club
Officers and Board Members to serve for the 2015/2016 Season. A
slate of candidates will be presented by the Chair of the three- person
Nominating Committee for approval by Club members present. Nominations
can also be made from the floor.
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I’m really sorry I missed the March
Meeting - got lots of great feedback on how much everyone enjoyed the
talk given by Homer Richardson of the Brookhaven Camellia Club in
Mississippi. He gave hints and tips that helped everyone, from
experienced growers, to know-a-bits like me, to real newbies. I do
hope lots of people attended this meeting, it sounds like it was a lot
of fun. Our sincere thanks to Homer for giving up his Sunday for
our Club and making the long trip from Brookhaven.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CAMELLIA CHAT First, my most sincere thanks to our Club
Secretary Dr. Jim Dwyer for writing and sending out the March
Newsletter. He did a great job, I’d say that I might have found a
replacement as Editor, but Eileen would probably smack me! Jim has
plenty to do already... While across the pond (as Jim put it) I
had the opportunity to visit the month-long free Camellia Show at
Chiswick House in London. The camellia trees in the 300 ft long
Conservatory were spectacular, most in full bloom. Met some lovely
camellia people and took a lot of pictures. I asked about how the
propagation of “Middlemist’s Red” was going. There are only two of
this plant and the other is in New Zealand. Apparently even the
International Camellia Society’s most expert propagators are
having great difficulty in getting scions to take on various rootstock.
I passed on what I could remember from Randolph Maphis and Jim Smelley
about using “Kumagai” as rootstock, they’re going to try it since
several were familiar with the strong growth characteristics of “Kumagai”.
There was a nice arrangement of potted camellias and other plants as you
entered the greenhouse, spotted a gorgeous little low-growing camellia,
absolutely ideal for a pot hanging in the shade. pale pink/white &
fragrant, called “Quintessence”. It’s a non-retic hybrid from New
Zealand - think I might have tracked it down in a Louisiana nursery....I
definitely want one, or two, or six!