Early Cold Snap

So much for a nice Fall for camellias. The last week was much colder than normal and as a result, my camellia flowers were destroyed. Unopened buds are still ok, but it is supposed to be cold again next week, so I can probably kiss them goodbye as well. ' Daikagura' has still not come into full flower.............it is a painfully slow opener. So I don`t know how it is going to end up. I am hoping it will eventually adjust itself and open sooner in the season. With normal temperatures it would still be ok........maybe some year we will have a season that stays near normal.

At any rate, the event left me with some interesting observations.

The open flowers are fine when the temperature drops to the upper 20`s at night.

But light colored flowers get ruined if it goes to the lower 20`s . However darker colored flowers can still be ok at this temperature. I`m sure it depends on the duration of the cold.

Basically if the temperature goes below 20 and into the teens, your flowers are toast.

Unopened buds, that are in the process of opening still look alright, slightly damaged, but minimally.

I am also sure all of this varies from plant to plant. So these are just generalizations.

George

Showa-no-sakae / by George Adams

Showa-no-sakae is finally blooming , It put out a few flowers a couple of weeks ago. But now it has many flowers. Luckily it has not gotten cold enough to damage the flowers yet.

Autumn Sunrise / by George Adams

Here it is the first of December, and my camellias are blooming away.

Autumn Sunrise is supposed to be one of the earliest Sasanquas to bloom. But mine only started a couple of weeks ago. I just planted it this year, so maybe it has to adjust itself.

C.Sasanqua 'Jean May' / by George Adams

Jean May is a profuse bloomer. It starts to bloom in late October. Blooms like mad, all through November and December and sometimes is still flowering into January. Mine is close to full bloom now, But it still has hundreds of buds. So it should bloom for a while

C.Japonica 'Daikagura' / by George Adams

It is great to have a true fall blooming Japonica. Daikagura has Big Full Japonica blooms, and mine started blooming last week. I will post more photos when it has multiple flowers.

C.Sasanqua ' Double Rainbow' / by George Adams

The Fall camellias are starting to bloom. Here are some Photos of C.Sasanqua 'Double Rainbow' It starts out with bright, dark pink buds and opens very pink, but as it ages the flowers become bi-colored ,with a white center and bright pink exterior and edges. The plant is small now, but I imagine it is going to be beautiful when it grows large and is covered with flowers in various shades of pink and white.

George Adams , Donkelarii

I was lucky enough to obtain Camellia Japonica Donkelarii last spring. It made it through the somewhat difficult winter with no complaints and is now producing some beautiful flowers. Here are some photos.