Sazanka » California

An article in The Camellia Journal about the convention of American Camellia Society

Yuri Panchul — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:14:45 +0000

I contributed some photo pictures to The Camellia Journal, a quarterly publications of the American Camellia Society (ACS). I made those pictures during the March ACS convention in Foster City, California. You can see one of the pictures published in the last issue of the magazine – a picture with the group of ACS attendies. I included both the cover of the magazine and the article about the convention below. You can see my other posts about the convention here:

Part 1. Bob Ehrhart’s Camellia Garden.
Part 2. Gallo Camellia Garden.
Part 3. Group pictures and the first reception.

All pictures are clickable:

A new book about camellias is published in China

Yuri Panchul — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:14:12 +0000

A new book about camellias is published in China. It is written by Shen Yinchun 沈荫椿, a Chinese American living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I (Yuri Panchul) contributed more than 30 photo pictures to this great publication. The preface is written by Barbara Tuffy, a recent president of the American Camellia Society. American camellia people usually call Shen Yinchun “Y.C. Shen” or simply “Y.C.”

This picture shows me, my younger son and Mr. Shen in University of California at Berkeley Botanical Garden, near the Asian section of the garden.

My daughter with this book:

Another Chinese book about camellias has a picture of young Y.C. Shen with his father Shen Yuanru 沈渊如. This picture was taken back in 1967, one year before both of them were arrested by Chinese Communists during Mao’s “Cultural Revolution”:

American Camellia Society – 2009 Annual Meeting. Part 3. Group pictures and the first reception.

Yuri Panchul — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:20:50 +0000

Continued from Part 1 and Part 2.

Back in March 19-21 I attended the annual meeting of the American Camellia Society. This year it was in Foster City near San Francisco. You can also read about the event on the website of the American Camellia Society.

At the end of the conference I made two group photos. You can click to enlarge:

I also made many photo pictures of the conference attendees during the first reception on March 19:

Alma Buffkin (North Carolina) and Bob Logan (California)

Matt Hunter (North Carolina) and Pat Gregory (California)

Roger Vinson, Florida

Deane Hall, Colorado

Tod Gregory, California

Richard Buggeln, North Carolina

Garland Bayley, Oregon

Patti Perkins (Mississippi) and Larry Barlow (Virginia)

Ann Walton, Georgia

Brenda Beach (South Carolina)

William Bennett, Florida

Garland Bayley, Oregon

Grace Bayley, Oregon

Celeste Richard (Georgia) and Patrick Andrews (Florida)

Jim Dickson, South Carolina

John Newsome, Georgia

Ellen Vinson, Florida

Carolyn Dickson, South Carolina

Carolyn and Jim Dickson (South Carolina), John Newsome (Georgia), Ellen Vinson (Florida)

Bob Weidman, Florida

Lynn King, California

Brad King, California

Nancy Mefford, California

Miles Beach, South Carolina

Miles Beach (South Carolina), Patrick Andrews (Florida) and Brad King (California)

Lynn King, Nancy Mefford and Steve Mefford, all from California

Bob Weidman, Florida

Brenda Beach (South Carolina), Garland Bayley (Oregon) and Patti Perkins (Mississippi)

Slide show with all photo pictures – with Flash-player and without Flash-player.

Part 1. Bob Ehrhart’s Camellia Garden.
Part 2. Gallo Camellia Garden.
Part 3. Group pictures and the first reception.

American Camellia Society – 2009 Annual Meeting. Part 2. Gallo Camellia Garden.

Yuri Panchul — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:22:11 +0000

Continued from Part 1.

Back in March 19-21 I attended the annual meeting of the American Camellia Society. This year it was in Foster City near San Francisco. On Saturday, March 21 all the conference attendees went to the city of Modesto, California for the National Camellia Show hosted this year by the Camellia Society of Modesto. The show was in the Administrative Building of Gallo Winery. As a part of the conference we took a tour in the beautiful Gallo Camellia Garden and had a party inside Gallo Wine Cellar. You can also read about the event on the website of the American Camellia Society.

My photo pictures of the Gallo Camellia Garden, National Show and Gallo Wine Cellar:

Slide show with all photo pictures – with Flash-player and without Flash-player.

Part 1. Bob Ehrhart’s Camellia Garden.
Part 2. Gallo Camellia Garden.
Part 3. Group pictures and the first reception.

American Camellia Society – 2009 Annual Meeting. Part 1. Bob Ehrhart’s Camellia Garden.

Yuri Panchul — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:54:49 +0000

Back in March 19-21 I attended the annual meeting of the American Camellia Society. This year it was in Foster City near San Francisco. During the first day we went to the garden of Robert and Linda Ehrhart in Walnut Creek, California. Bob Ehrhart’s garden is one of the largest private collections in the United States. It has several thousand large plants growing mostly in containers. Bob’s website is www.camelliagrower.com. You can also read about Bob Ehrhart on the website of the American Camellia Society.

My photo pictures of the event:

Seedlings:

Slide show with all photo pictures – with Flash-player and without Flash-player.

Part 1. Bob Ehrhart’s Camellia Garden.
Part 2. Gallo Camellia Garden.
Part 3. Group pictures and the first reception.

John Wang – a camellia hybridizer living in San Francisco Bay Area

Yuri Panchul — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:34:39 +0000

On January 25, 2009 I visited a well known camellia hybridizer John Wang, a Chinese American living in San Francisco Bay Area.

John Wang places camellias inside the house to hand pollinate them. Room temperature increases the chance of success and no insects can interfere. John does not believe in open pollination of camellias – he chooses parents very carefully because he cannot afford to plant thousands of chance seedlings like for example Nuccio’s Nurseries does:

This camellia hybrid, created by John Wang, is a seedling of Tama-no-ura:

Another seedling from John Wang has a rare yellow tint:

John grows most of his camellias in plastic containers. He constructed an elaborate shading structure using PVC pipes and shade cloth:

John uses fish tanks to grow camellia seedlings. Under room temperature, high humidity and the absence of wind, the seedlings germinate and grow very fast:

John quickly grafts all his seedlings. This significantly reduces time needed to evaluate the seedlings. Without grafting a seedling typically starts to bloom after 4-6 years, sometimes 15 years or more. Grafted seedling may start to bloom in a couple of years.

A small-leaved Camellia species from the garden of John Wang. Neither John nor I can recognize this species. I suspect it is related to C. lutchuensis or even possible C. sinensis. Anybody has any idea?

More pictures:

An unidentified red camellia from the garden of John Wang:

An unidentified camellia from the garden of John Wang:

Wild Camellia yuhsienensis Hu (攸县油茶) from the garden of John Wang.

See also an article about Camellia hybridization written by John Wang: http://www.jhnews.com.cn/gb/content/2003-03/02/content_158713.htm

Found an interesting article about a Japanese-American nurseryman Toichi Domoto

Yuri Panchul — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:04:03 +0000

Toichi Domoto

A Japanese-American nurseryman’s life in California: floriculture and family, 1883-1992

With Introductions by Julius Nuccio and Ernest Wertheim
Interviews Conducted by Suzanne B. Riess in 1992

The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley

http://tinyurl.com/4ohuw6
Copy at http://sazanka.org/pages/toichi_domoto

This sasanqua cultivar, ‘Dwarf Shishi’, was originated by Toichi Domoto in 1988:

It is excellent for bonsai.

Also I found a very likely photo pictures of Toichi Domoto (need to check with Tom Nuccio) on http://tinyurl.com/4795g8. I am almost sure this is the same one (born 1902, high school in East Bay):

Another mention (click to enlarge):

This is probably his sister (click to enlarge):

‘Nodami Ushiro’ – a Higo-like sasanqua

Yuri Panchul — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:10:27 +0000

Camellia sasanqua ‘Nodami Ushiro’. Introduced by Domoto Nursery, California, 1934, but is originally from Japan. Stirling Macoboy believes that the name means “a backward glance” in Japanese, but he is probably incorrect. Since I cannot find this name in Japanese sources and my Japanese wife tells me that Japanese people are not likely to name a flower this way (“mi” meaning “body”), I guess that the original name was different. From browsing the history of Toichi Domoto I got an impression that he did not know Kanji well because he was a second-generation Japanese-American. Because of it, Toichi Domoto probably made a naming mistake when he imported it.

It is difficult to explain what is so special about ‘Nodami Ushiro’. It is a single pink camellia with a lot of single pink competitors – ‘Plantation Pink’, ‘Cleopatra’, ‘Tanya’ and others. However Jennifer Trehane in her camellia book calls ‘Nodami Ushiro’ “a subtle, sophisticated camellia”. Where does this sophistication come from? I have an explanation.

I noticed ‘Nodami Ushiro’ when I was walking across Nuccio’s nursery in Southern California. The first thought was “A-ha! It is a Higo-like sasanqua”. Higo camellias are japonicas originated by samurai clan Kumamoto¹. They are single asymmetrical somewhat triangular flowers with a cloud of golden stamens. Their simplicity and slight irregularity create a feeling of delicate harmony. I got the same feeling from ‘Nodami Ushiro’ and this feeling was very real, especially if you take into account the fact that I noticed this flower among thousands of other flowers.

‘Nodami Ushiro’ flowers are large (up to 90 mm), single or sometimes semi-double, with 20 mm yellow stamens. Many flowers look bubbly and frequently irregular in shape. Trehane wrote that the petals have “wavy, sometimes notched edges”. Macoboy stated that ‘Nodami Ushiro’ blooms during the early season, while Trehane believes it is mid-season. This year (2008) in my garden ‘Nodami Ushiro’ started to bloom on September 16 (early season) but last year (2007) mass blooming occurred during November (mid-late season).

Leaves are large, up to 40×70 mm.

I like this flower the most on a small container plant. However the main ‘Nodami Ushiro’ plant in my garden is large and very spreading. According to Macoboy, “the shrub is compact in size, but vigorous in growth so it may be readily pruned to whatever shape you choose”. But Trehane is saying “forming a tall, upright bush”. I believe the habit of this shrub is not “compact” and not “upright”. Looks like all three of us (Macoboy, Trehane and me) had different garden environments and applied different pruning. One thing is for sure – the plant is fast-growing and flexible.

¹ In addition to Higo japonicas there are Higo sasanquas, but they are very different from Higo japonicas and people outside Japan usually do not call them Higo camellias. ‘Nodami Ushiro’ is not one of them. When I say “a Higo-like sasanqua”, I mean “a sasanqua that has a feeling of Higo japonica”.

Species and cultivars gallery

Yuri Panchul — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 06:49:10 +0000

1. Introduction

Yuri Panchul Garden

2. Wild form

↑ Camellia sasanqua, selection ‘Shikoku Stars’. Thunberg 1784. Native to southern Japan: southern Shikoku, Kyushu, Ryukyu islands. Thought to be a geographical variant of C. oleifera native to China. Grows up to 26 ft (8 m) Flowers early fall to mid-winter. Chromosome numbers: 2n = 90 (wild forms), 45-120 (cultivars) (Kondo, 1977).

Sazanka » California

An article in The Camellia Journal about the convention of American Camellia Society

A new book about camellias is published in China

American Camellia Society – 2009 Annual Meeting. Part 3. Group pictures and the first reception.

American Camellia Society – 2009 Annual Meeting. Part 2. Gallo Camellia Garden.

American Camellia Society – 2009 Annual Meeting. Part 1. Bob Ehrhart’s Camellia Garden.

John Wang – a camellia hybridizer living in San Francisco Bay Area

Found an interesting article about a Japanese-American nurseryman Toichi Domoto

Toichi Domoto

‘Nodami Ushiro’ – a Higo-like sasanqua

Species and cultivars gallery

1. Introduction

2. Wild form

3. Big white single

4. White double

5. Single pinks

6. Double pinks

7. Semi-formal pinks

8. Peony pinks

9. Anemone pinks

10. Dark pinks

11. Yuletide and Hiryu

12. Bicolor

13. Egao group

14. Oleifera and Ackerman hybrids

15. Other species and hybrids

16. Low growing and small foliage

17. Foliage

18. Credits

Introduction

Big white single

White double

Single pinks

Peony pinks

Yuletide and Hiryu

Bicolor

Egao group