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Need Recommendations for 'Memorial' Camellia
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Posted by sesselsfca z10 San Fran.CA (My Page) on Mon, Jan 19, 09 at 18:41
| Over the last thirty years, in addition to gardening in San Francisco, I have raised English Bulldogs. When one of the dogs passes on, I bury its ashes in the garden, and over them plant a Camellia. My 6th dog just died, and it has been nine years since the last one before that, so I am a little "rusty" on good varieties to use for this purpose. Ideally, I would like a very fast growing, upright C. Japonica, with a goal of 12 to 18 or more feet in mature height. Red and pink flowers do best in our climate (whites tend to get bad petal blight). I would be most appreciative of any suggestions for this situation. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Need Recommendations for 'Memorial' Camellia
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| Sorry about the passing of your dog. I am a dog owner with a Border Collie, a German Shepherd and a Golden Retriever. I love those babies and think I know how hard it would be to loose any of them. But such is life. To answer your question... Most camellias grow too slow to get 12-18 feet at mature age (10 years) so this was an interesting question, sesselsfca. I found a candidate called Camellia Debbie that produces pink flowers. From the Monrovia website: Slow growing 6 to 8 feet high & as wide; can exceed 20 ft. at maturity if unpruned.
Note: camellias do not stop growing. Most camellias whose mature size at 10 years is between 6-10 feet will continue to grow. You can expand the possible number of varieties by selecting varieties that will grow to between 6-10 feet at mature age (10 years) knowing that they will reach 12-18 feet some time thereafter. If well maintained, camellias will outlive us and grow for many more hundreds of years.
Note: Monrovia is a distributor. Any local nursery that sells Monrovia products can special order some of these plants. You just need to request a special order.
Luis |
Here is a link that might be useful: Camellia Debbie
RE: Need Recommendations for 'Memorial' Camellia
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| With the possibility of that urban, canine necropolis now being a little crowded, it may be a good idea to select a camellia that will grow tall and slender. If you're not already growing _Camellia japonica_ 'Herme' (aka 'Jordan's Pride,' 'Hikaru-genji,' or 'Souvenir d'Henri Guichard'), this variety would be a peerless choice as a living memorial. In the Southeast, we call this camellia 'Herme'; but in California, I think it may be more commonly known as 'Jordan's Pride.' Regardless of its handle, 'Herme' is an uncommonly beautiful camellia. Its flowers are fragrant, which is an uncommon feature of japonicas. An Image search on Google will give you plenty of good 'Herme' pictures. With its introduction to North American horticulture in 1875, 'Herme' ranks among the antique, or heirloom, varieties. It is fast growing for a japonica and slender at maturity, thus making room for more tenants in that Canine Necropolis by the Bay. |
RE: Need Recommendations for 'Memorial' Camellia
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| It would be good to know what you already have, but my suggestion would be a Kramer's Supreme. Once they get going they grow pretty fast, have fully double, peony form red flowers with a slight fragrance and will grow anywhere. IMO they are pretty much foolproof! Bob Hope, I understand, also makes a fine tree though I do not know how fast it grows. |
RE: Need Recommendations for 'Memorial' Camellia
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have a look at 'r.l. wheeler' at the link below. said to be one of the best in all aspects.
you can back into the "wintergarden camellias" section of green nurseries from the link for many photos and descriptions of others.
down the list from 'r.l. wheeler' is 'rose dawn' and it has been fairly vigorous growing for me and very floriferous, later in the season, having some flowers into the month of may. |
Here is a link that might be useful: 'r.l. wheeler' camellia photo
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