Very nice photos. I really like Bella Romano.

I meant Bella Romana. Okay, I'm intrigued - what is Gibberelic acid and where do you get it?

Gibberelic acid (pronounced Âjib' for short) is a wonder potion for camellia blooms that works like a steroid hormone, or maybe viagra! (LOL) A tiny drop of this stuff is like magic, allowing you to fool mother nature by inducing blooms that are earlier and often larger and more colorful than normal, and they last longer after they open. You pinch out the growth bud next to the bloom bud, put a tiny drop on it, and watch the bloom bud explode into a huge blossom a few weeks later, long before normal. (How many other plants in your garden will allow you to do that?) Its especially great for inducing earlier blooms before cold weather, or timing blooms for a particular holiday or camellia show. I am gibbing a few now for Thanksgiving.

Like many great inventions, it was discovered by accident. It dates back to a Japanese rice farmer who noticed certain rice seedlings were growing taller than his other plants, but they failed to produce any grain. (To a rice farmer, "no grain, no gain.") He turned to science to solve the problem, but unfortunately he never lived to see the outcome. The scientists were able to isolate a fungus that was stimulating the growth, and they were able to reproduce it as giberrelic acid. Gib began to be used on camellias in the late 1950s. It is one of the secrets of how camellia growers are able to produce those humongous camellia blooms you see at shows, sometimes 50 percent larger than normal, and timed to bloom for the show. But its great fun for the ordinary gardener as well.

It is inexpensive and available by order from the American Camellia Society which sends out a kit containing gibberellic acid and an eye-dropper, with instructions for mixing. (A supply will last several seasons if stored in the refigerator.) You also can get it pre-mixed and ready to use from many local camellia clubs, for instance the Camellia Club of Mobile offers gib to its members in pre-packaged eye-droppers for around $5.00, as do many other clubs. (E-mail me your address, I may have an extra vial of it.)
You ought to try this, it is great fun to play around with, no kidding!!

I also used GA on my plants this summer. Instead of blooming, they grow like there was no tomorrow! The only problem is that the plant looks strange now because of the extra elongated internodes. At least they grew faster than they normally would have.