Camellia Club of Mobile Newsletter

                  Volume VII – Issue 1                                          Editor: Vera Curry

                          2010/2011 CAMELLIA SEASON OPENS

Over 55 Club members met on September l2, at the Mobile Botanical Gardens, to celebrate the beginning of another camellia season.  It  was so nice to see everyone again after the summer break.  Our new President Don Oyler welcomed all present and introduced the new Officers and Board Members.  The meeting was an informal gathering geared to providing information on all aspects of camellia culture for the coming season.  Everyone really enjoyed getting their questions answered by our usual experts.  Florence Nelson gave us a quick run-down on her method of grafting older, larger camellias, she has promised to expand on this at our propagation meeting in February 2011.  We found that at least eight of the members present had registered camellias,  Don encouraged more people to plant seeds and to check for sports.  We were pleased to welcome Dick Hooten and his wife, from the Pensacola Camellia Club, who attended on behalf of the Gulf Coast Camellia Society.  They brought a most elegant table crafted of exotic woods inlaid with camellia blossoms which was made by Reid Leonard, and a lovely garnet ring, both items being raffled to benefit the GCCS.

DON’T MISS OCTOBER 10^th MEETING!!!

The guest speaker at our next Meeting will be Dr. Bill Bennett, of the Pensacola Camellia Club.  Dr. Bill will be familiar to most of our members since he has spoken at our meetings in previous years and his presentations are always interesting.  If you get the Pensacola PBS channel WSRE/TV you will have seen his program “Garden Magic” – really good, plus he always has camellias on when they are in season!  Dr. Bill has judged our Camellia Show for many years, and grows some gorgeous blooms which he exhibits in many Shows.

In Memoriam

On July 9 our Club lost one of our long-time members when Cecile Lovvorn passed away.  Cecile was Club Treasurer for many years, and only ill-health prevented her from attending our meetings and Shows.  Cecile was an excellent cook, particularly of desserts and sweet treats, when she was still active in the Club, members used to make a bee-line for whatever she brought to the pre-meeting social gathering – it was always  delicious!  Each January when members turned up to set up our Camellia Show, often on dark, damp, chilly early mornings, Cecile was there with her life-renewing pots of hot coffee, donuts and treats, plus she provided a tribe of willing grandchildren to help clerk and carry during the Show.  Newer members will not have met Cecile,  but  those of us who knew her, appreciate all she did to keep our Club running so well and will remember her with love. Our 2011 Show is dedicated to her memory, along with Marguerite Miller and Margaret Comstock.

Camellia Chat…Saw my first camellia of the 2010/2011 season in my garden on September 14, C. sasanqua “Sparkling Burgundy” .  Must say sasanquas provide some really pretty blooms, quietly beautiful, unlike their more flamboyant cousins, japonica and reticulata.  One of my favorites is “Clove Wheel”.

I now have four camellia plants originated by our Club members, the knock-your-socks-off “Elaine’s Betty” (the Smelleys), “Dolores Oates” (Jim Oates), “Cleo Glidden Arras” (Frances Ashcraft) and “Oyler’s Rachel Marie” (Don Oyler).  All lovely flowers!  Now I need to add to my collection that pretty “Alice Creighton” – when she gets big enough to provide a scion to a very loving home!

I was moaning that squirrels had stolen all the large seeds of my “Moonlight Bay”, “Black Magic” & “Tama-no-ura”.  Someone asked if I found the opened pods (nope, I didn’t) so they said the squirrels had probably buried them as a winter food stash.  I do know squirrels do not have the longest memories, so I am hoping they will have forgotten where they put my precious seeds and I will find some seedlings growing up someplace.  Maybe all is not lost!

What will they think of next?  Clothing is now being made from camellias!  Apparently they chuck green tea (C. sinensis), sugar and some chemicals into a vat, stir it up, add bacteria over a few days and a bunch of stuff floats to the top.  This is hauled out, dried and treated to become a lightweight leather-like fabric,  There are garments made from this on display in the Science Museum in London – I shall investigate on my next trip….

The Camellia Society of New Zealand is composing a list of all camellias that appear to be resistant to petal blight.  I do know their camellias are resistant to earthquakes,  pictures of damage in the recent ‘quake showed two large camellias blooming by a collapsed home.