Something About Seedlings – Part 3

Well, did you pick and plant your seeds? Don’t be impatient, but I hope for those of you who want “instant” gratification, I hope you had some autumn shoots. A few of our 2020 seeds (about 600) germinated in the Fall and are coping with intermittent freezes just fine. More should start popping up as the Spring commences and grow into plants that could have that “special bloom.” Some of our potted seedlings, about 4,200 or so, have begun blooming – nothing special, all were either plain singles (red, white and pink) or inauspicious semi-doubles. They are just some extra grafting stock for adding varieties to the collection. Camellias are definitely not for those who expect immediate response since the seedlings take so long to bloom – if you need that, hybridize day lilies as many camellia growers have done.

Last year’s many Camellia Heaven seedlings registered were mentioned previously (last issue); however, one not discussed was a dark red/purplish peony named 'Samantha Nicole.' I had planned another name, but a friend had what he thought was a seedling in his yard and asked me about registering it. It was white with red stripes and also had a red sport. I identified the striped version, but since the red had bloomed for many years I suggested he might be able to register the sport; I could find no red sport mentioned in the nomenclature. On further investigation in the International Register, I found reference to the red sport. He was crestfallen as he planned its naming as a birthday present for his wife. I asked what his wife’s name was and learned it was 'Samantha Nicole.' Since my daughter’s name is Samantha and my niece’s is Nicole, I offered him a choice from two of my seedlings which I thought were worthy of registration (I could name a variety for his wife and my daughter and niece at the same time). He picked the dark peony; his wife was thrilled when she saw the registered bloom with her name in picture. She should now have an actual plant as I provided him with scions for grafting as well.

Another Camellia Heaven bloom ready for registration is 'Sandra Marie Grimm.' Sandy came into my life about 2 years ago at a presentation to her garden club. A gardener, already familiar with camellias (her family had some at their home), she and her mother asked many questions and told of a camellia in the backyard of their old home in Algiers. I offered to reproduce it. When following up regarding the plant’s location and their continued desire for it, I succumbed to her charms and asked her out. Sandy is now the wife of that “crazy camellia collector” and finds Camellia Heaven to be a camellia bloom wonderland. The “Sandra” won best seedling at the Brookhaven Show two years ago. It reminds me of 'Atkins’ Gift,' the first registration, with its formal double shape and incurved petals, but this bloom has a much darker, richer color. Hopefully there will be more to come as wild seedlings bloom and the 4,200 plus begin to reveal themselves. Oh what fun the next years will be.

Stephanie and I helped others to register their camellias as well as register our own. The process basically calls for providing measurements of the blooms, their leaves, pictures thereof (that show the bloom head on with and without a ruler to establish actual size, and the bush (to establish its growth habit) and sign off from two accredited judges that the blooms have some difference or uniqueness compared to others already registered. Early on, this process was on paper and pictures needed to be provided; now all can be accomplished on the internet with pictures emailed as well. A small fee is required for the inclusion of a picture in the Camellia Journal.

The first varieties Stephanie and I helped to register were 'Sawada’s Mahogany' and 'Stephen’s Garden.' Bobby Green was growing and selling these, but wasn’t going to register them. We filled out all the paperwork for him for both varieties and at a SELNA convention in Mobile, took the necessary pictures of the blooms since he had them at the convention hall on display. We gave him all he needed to just mail in the forms and obtain the registration. Stephanie’s father was Stephen and that motivated our effort and the 'Sawada’s Mahogany' was so different and came from a great name in camelliadom, they had to be registered. Many have thanked me for assisting as they wanted to show the 'Sawada’s Mahogany' which they had purchased, but could not until the registration was accomplished.

Friends have shared their seedlings and asked for assistance in registering their interesting blooms. Stephanie and I met Bob and Peggy Kammer of the Fort Walton Camellia Society when we showed blooms at their annual show. They became friends and even moreso when we were evacuated for Katrina. My son-in-law and I wanted to return to Metairie to check out our houses, but fuel availability was an issue. We looked all over for gas cans and none could be found. While gas was available in the Fort Walton/Destin area where we were staying, containers to travel with to assure not running out were not. Stymied, we turned to the Fort Walton Camellia Society and called Bob and Peggy for assistance. Within hours, they rounded up six 5 gallon gas cans , even more surprising was they were filled. We made the trip back and forth and returned the cans filled as we lucked out finding gas each time we needed it. But they became special friends as did many in the Fort Walton Camellia Society. Later the Kammers shared a seedling that Bob said he was going to register; however, he never did so. When I heard of his death, I decided to move ahead and register the new variety for him. I reached out to Peggy for an appropriate name (named for him, her, or a child), but before she responded, she passed as well. I therefore proposed some names to the Fort Walton club members and the new variety was registered as 'Kammer’s Legacy' (honoring both Bob and Peggy).

Another recent registration was 'Houltonwood.' The name Houltonwood has not only been associated with Morris Marlbrough’s property in Northern Tangipahoa Parish (on Houltonwood Drive) where he and his wife planted numerous camellias, but also carries the names of the estate that became the locally renowned Zemurray Gardens. The Houltons owned the property from 1918 to 1928 and remodeled the main building and were clearly an influence throughout the parish. While the 'Houltonwood' bloom came from Mr. Marlborough’s garden, it carries a more storied name and the impressive history of the area.

Ten blooms, including 'John Lloyd Grimm,' were registered by Dr. Richard Strobach with my assistance. These were mostly named for family and family friends. The Strobachs purchased the old Patin property and its fabulous garden of Louisiana and other registrars. It was there that Stephanie and I found a Louisiana variety we were hunting for called Marcel Valois. Most of us know the beautiful bloom Mr. Patin named for his daughter, Mary Agnes Patin, but few know of the bloom he named for his son-in-law, 'Marcel Valois.' Mr. Patin picked the worst looking seedling he could find and named it for Marcel; needless to say he was not as enamored of Marcel as his daughter was. The Patin/Strobach property has many, many seedlings. Interestingly, many are beautiful formal doubles, each with a perfection like the 'Pink Perfection' we all love. Hopefully, we will see many more registrations of the Strobach garden’s “offspring”. Mr. Doiron of Baton Rouge, LA, Paul Langford of Greenville, AL, and Lionel Worthy of Gainesville, FL shared some seedlings they were watching. Each did not intend to name their “creations,” but indicated that we could do so. Each should be registered as a “legacy” to these local camellia luminaries and their love of their gardens and camellias. Mr. Doiron had a beautiful garden, row after row of carefully maintained camellias, near a pond that attracted Canadian geese each winter. He even named one and hated their pecking at his vegetables. You couldn’t miss it on your way to LSU games along Highway 30 when all in bloom. Mr. Langford’s garden, mostly tiered as well due to the hilly property, included a dark, nearly black, seedling that was truly special. Mr. Worthy allowed anyone who joined the Gainesville Camellia Society to air-layer his plants. Stephanie and I drove to Gainesville and spent a day air-layering about 60 plants in the garden. We called Mr. Worthy and asked about a time to return to harvest the air-layers and found him at his daily dominos game. Before actually arriving at the agreed day and time in order to find and harvest them, Mr. Worthy passed. We were shocked. We then had to obtain permission to return to the property for the air-layers. We found all the plants we air-layered and they became a special contribution to the initial Grimm efforts to collect and preserve camellias. 

Other seedlings named include the following: Adios for now, more another day about the started seeds, camellia seedling growth, and their registration.