My camellia japonicas are in full bloom, after making it through the winter loaded with buds. These are from the cold hardy 'April' series that was hybridized at the University of North Carolina some years ago. I grew up near there, and my childhood home was surrounded by tender camellia varieties that had been propagated from those in my grandfather's garden many years before. After moving to New York as an adult I sorely missed their early spring blooms. And then lo and behold, the April series was introduced, and I purchased several of them, including April Kiss and April Dawn.
I remember the first year I planted them here, a landscaper whom I hired to relocate two mature Alberta Spruces in the front yard asked to see the garden in the back yard, so I showed him around. When he saw the two little camellias that were less than three feet tall, he said, "Those will never survive the winter here." I explained that these were the new hybrid 'April' series that were hardy to zone 6b (my zone). He said he already knew about them, and was certain that they wouldn't survive in my garden, because two of his clients in the next county north of me had tried to grow them, and they died the first year. I told him our zone was warmer (a point he argued), and I pointed out how I had placed them in a reasonably well sheltered part of the garden. Nonetheless, he remained unconvinced, and told me to prepare to see them die during the coming winter (thank you very much).
Well, guess what? Five years later they're 7 feet tall and blooming their heads off - and not just this spring, but even last spring after we had one of the harsher winters in recent times.
Here are some photos taken this afternoon. Now that the buds have opened, I just hope the blooms make it through tonight's sudden drop in temperature - it's going down to 25.
