In article , David Ross
wrote:

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.

I've more rhody reblooms this season than in most years -- just the
occasional flower here & there except for "Lee's Best Purple" which blooms
fully twice a year almost every year.

But the camellia season is starting for me right now. I have mainly
camelleas of the "sasanqua" type & they bloom in the main from October
through January.

-paghat the ratgirl

-----
"I wanted to be a Walt Disney villain when I was a child." -John Waters

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com