Natty_Dread wrote:

Hi all -- I have a camellia in my southern-facing front yard which has just
begun to bloom. In the three years since I planted the bush, it's never had
flowers on it this early in the season-- it's always started blooming in
December or early January and the blooms have ended up dying on the bush
because we've had a bad frost or a snowstorm right as they begin to open.
I'm in Alexandria, VA, USDA Zone 7; is this usual? I'm glad it's blooming
now because I'll actually be able to appreciate the flowers, just I'm just
surprised. Has anyone else had this experience?

Rhonda
Alexandria, VA
Zone 7

Strange things happen. Right now, I have several spring-flowering
plants in bloom: azaleas, raphiolepis, etc. My dwarf kumquat,
which usually has two bloom periods -- one in mid-summer and one
about 4-6 weeks later -- is in bloom now.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/