Yes, thanks. I should have been more explicit. I have a catalog with a
series of Camellia they call "Ice Angels" that they are claiming
survive through -5F or about -20C. I just don't know if that is
realistic or not.

JD


On Sat, 3 Jan 2009 10:48:33 -0000, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Bob Hobden" wrote ...
John - Pa. wrote ...
A Camellia (didn't get the cultivar name). I have seen camellia in
catalogs that claim to be hardy down to our USDA zone-6 and I have
been thinking about trying one. Does anyone have experience with hardy
camellia? We rarely hit the -10 minimum of zone-6, but we often break
0-degrees once or twice a season.

We grow a number of Camellias (in the UK) and get frost of 0°C to -3°C
every year, usually only overnight though, it rarely stays all day. The
plants just ignore the cold but you do get a problem if the flower buds
open and it gets frosty and then the sun rises and "burns" the frozen
flower (freeze drying it). It's why we try to grow them where the early
morning sun won't hit them.

Just realised you probably meant 0°F which is quite a bit colder,
about -18°C, and there aren't many places in the UK that ever get down to
that.