
"Forgotten" Camellia Extends
Flowers Growing AreaBy Jill Lee October 23, 1998Once, a plain white camellia
traveled from the mountains of China to a famous American garden. It was
relegated to the gardens "lower path" and hidden behind its
more colorful cousins. Terrible winters came. The homely but hardy camellia was
among the gardens few survivors. It became the progenitor of a cold-hardy
dynasty of beautiful as well as winter-brave camellias. This is not an ancient fable, but a true story about a successful camellia
breeding line from the U.S. National Arboretum.
The arboretum, in Washington, D.C., is part of the
Agricultural Research Service, the
U.S. Department of Agricultures chief
research agency. Fifty years ago, Chinese camellia seeds designated only as Plant
Introduction 162475 were planted in the arboretums greenhouse. The idea
was to add the plants to the arboretums extensive camilla collection. But
the fall-blooming introduction, less showy than other lines, was soon
forgotten. Harsh winters in 1977 and 1979 killed more than 950 camellias at the
Arboretum--but not PI 162475. Arboretum breeder William Ackerman, now retired,
began extensive cold-hardiness breeding and renamed PI 162475 as "Lu Shan
Snow" after the seeds mountain origin. This variety--and another camellia Ackerman used--belong to the Camellia
oleifera family, known for cold tolerance. Crossing them with lines having
the colors and multiple petals consumers prefer led to a winter-ready dynasty
that includes Winters Rose, Winters Waterlily and Ashtons
Pride. Camellias were once considered a perk of Southern living. Today, gardeners
as far north as coastal Massachusetts enjoy them, thanks to Ackermans
breeding efforts. The story of Lu Shan Snow appears in the October issue of Agricultural
Research, ARS monthly magazine. The story also is on the World Wide
Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct98/snow1098.htm Scientific contact: Thomas S. Elias, U.S. National Arboretum, ARS,
Washington, D.C., phone (202) 245-4539, fax (202) 245-4574,
[email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |