In article ,
says...
Sacha wrote:
On 10/12/07 18:12, in article ,
"Chris Hogg" wrote:

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:53:33 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

Our Camellia sasanqua Narumi-gata is just covered in flowers. It's scented
too - real bonus. I do recommend this one to anyone wanting an early
flowering one.
A friend of ours has one. Not sure if it's Narumi-gata, but certainly
c. sasanqua of some sort and judging by the seedlings that spring up
around it, it frequently sets viable seed.


Ours are still quite young - about three years old. We haven't seen them
set seed, though we'll certainly keep a look out for that. Because I've
known it in the past, though not in my own garden, I particularly wanted
one. Do you know the age of the one your friend has? I believe C. sasanqua
are among the earliest to flower but we have C. japonica Takanini which
flowered in autumn last year and just went on and on. It hasn't flowered
this year yet, or hadn't a few days ago before I got flu-bound. Tomorrow
I'll go and inspect it! We had two extremely small plants, real babies -
but they were smothered in deep red flowers - if it lives up to that promise
it's a really good one.
I really do love Camellias, though I wish their lives were longer. However,
there's a great bonus to be had in growing other things up and through them.
Towards the latter half of this summer we had a Clematis 'Polish Spirit' (I
think!) doing just that and it formed the most lovely swags of purple blooms
through a couple of Camellias and a yew behind them. It really does pay to
let the garden run a bit mad and sort itself out sometimes and then these
happy accidents occur that one can only stand back and marvel at and rejoice
in.


What puzzles me about the garden trade is that there isn't a load of
Camellia sasanquas on the front step at every garden centre. Surely
they'd make a killing at this time of year. Maybe people are just not in
gardening mode in December.

THere is some truth in that statement, goodness knows how many times
people get told its an ok time to plant!
Camellia sasanquas is not as hardy as the japonica's and williamsii
crosses so would be at risk in normal winters
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea