November 11: Camellia

[neverspent]

I found this showy bush hidden in a seldom-visited corner of the zoo last weekend. It didn't look like the kind of thing that should be blooming in November, but then, we've got azaleas and magnolias re-blooming now, so it might not matter. I'd never seen blooms quite like it before, but by process of elimination I concluded it was probably camellia. The flowers, overlapping white blossoms edged with pink surrounding a bushy crown of gold stamens, looked a bit like large wild roses, but the leaves were all wrong: thick, waxy, and very bushy. I don't know anything about camellia except that old cranky Mrs. Dubose in To Kill a Mockingbird grew them and Jem was punished for destroying her bushes; and that tea is a member of the camellia family, so I was picturing trying to brew these thick, shiny leaves and it wasn't very appetizing.

I was able to identify it via the convenience of the internet, of course, and it's camellia, a single flower, very simple variety. Simple and pretty. I'd like to grow one someday, but apparently they are not very drought-tolerant, so they probably would not be a good ecological choice in the summers here.

Comments

[shinsetsu]

Camellias are very prevalent here, and we have very hot summers. The ones I have seen are more complex--like roses.

[neverspent]

From what I read, it sounds like they like heat, but aren't very drought-tolerant. I'm just afraid if I tried growing them here, they would need more extra water during the driest months than I would be comfortable using. (Unless I manage to fit a good rainwater collection system someday...!)

It looks like camellias and roses might have been selectively cultivated in similar ways to produce those gorgeous complex "double" blossoms. The pictures I found are gorgeous!

[shinsetsu]

...except the camellias don't have the beautiful fragrance. Too bad for them!

[neverspent]

Do they not? I wonder if I misidentified the blossoms I saw. When I put my nose right up close and inhaled, they smelled absolutely lovely! But I'm not a big fan of rose scent or any strong scents, so maybe I just like that it was different.

[shinsetsu]

The full ones out here don't--just a green smell, but maybe that one in your photo does since it's a different variety. Here is a forum page I found about camellias and frangrance:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/camellia/msg0723451826218.html

[neverspent]

Oh, interesting, thank you!