Sazanka » Shishigashira

A new catalog from Camellia Forest Nursery, Fall 2008 – my review

Yuri Panchul — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:19:23 +0000

Camellia Forest Nursery is a nursery in North Carolina managed by Kai Mei and David Parks. Kai Mei is a wife of Dr. Clifford Parks (one of the authors of “Collected Species of the Genus Camellia”, 2005) and David Parks is their son.

Mieko Tanaka

The most interesting sasanqua hybrid offered this year is a true red ‘Mieko Tanaka’. Almost all previous “red” sasanquas were actually dark pinks (for example ‘Bonanza’ and ‘Reverend Ida’). The only previous true red was ‘Yuletide’, a chance seedling of Hiryu, originated in Nuccio’s Nurseries back in 1963.

The basic problem with red color is that wild C. sasanqua has no red (or pink) pigment – anthocyanin.

According to Dr. Takayuki Tanaka and other researchers, all pink sasanqua cultivars probably originated from an ancient C. japonica x sasanqua hybrid approximately 400 years ago almost definitely in Japan. The estimation 400 years comes from chloroplast genome DNA (cpDNA) analysis. Additionally, athocyanin chromatography demonstrates that all pink sasanquas (together with x hiemalis and x vernalis hybrids) share the form of anthocyanin with C. japonica and does not have pigments specific for C. reticulata and C. saluensis.

Based on this information, Dr. Tanaka was working on sasanqua-japonica hybridization and finally he developed a cultivar ‘Mieko Tanaka’ (C. x vernalis ‘Gaisen’ x C. japonica).

Plain Jane, O’Nishiki, Winter’s Rose and Winter’s Red Rider

Another important cultivar now available for sale in Camellia Forest Nursery is C. oleifera ‘Plain Jane’. This plain white flower has two distinctive quantities.

First of all, it is one of the most cold-hardy camellias, used by Dr. William Ackerman for his cold-hardiness hybridization program. For example, Dr. Ackerman claims that his cultivar ‘Winter’s Rose’ (C. oleifera ‘Plain Jane’ x C. x hiemalis ‘Otome’) can survive winter temperatures down to -15 F / -26 C.

Second, according to Dr. Ackerman, ‘Plain Jane’ may be used to create dwarf cultivars that are useful as patio and bonsai plants. Particularly, ‘Winter’s Rose’ is also a dwarf camellia. When Dr. Ackerman crossed ‘Plain Jane’ with C. sasanqua ‘O’Nishiki’, he got 3:1 mendelian ratio between normal and dwarf seedlings. This suggested that both ‘Plain Jane’ and ‘O’Nishiki’ carry heterozygous alleles of a dwarfiness gene. (Yes, I know that both plants are hexaploids – so an additional explanation from Dr. Ackerman is needed).

Luckily I got cuttings of ‘O’Nishiki’ last Summer from Mr. Garet Uemura who lives in Hawaii. Thank you, Mr. Uemura!

This year I also bought two more plants of another semi-dwarf Ackerman hybrid – ‘Winter’s Red Rider’ (C. ‘Shishigashira’ × C. oleifera ‘Lu Shan Snow’).

Here is a picture of ‘Winter’s Rose’ (C. oleifera ‘Plain Jane’ x C. x hiemalis ‘Otome’). William Ackerman claims that it survives very low winter temperatures – down to -15 F / -26 C:

Double pinks

Yuri Panchul — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 02:46:56 +0000

↑ Shishigashira. C. x hiemalis. Means “Lion’s Head” in Japanese. Originated and spread in Kansai and Chubu. First mentioned in Engeikai Zasshi in 1894. Called ‘Kan-tsubaki’ in Kanto area since 1933.

↑ Kanjiro. C. x hiemalis. Introduced by Takii & Co. Ltd., Japan in 1954. Originated in Aichi Prefecture. The original tree was raised in Inazawa City. Sometimes single, sometimes semi-double. Very vigorous, widely used for rootstock.

↑ Jean May. Originated by Ralph May, Gerbing’s Camellia Nursery of Fernandino, Florida in 1951. The flower has a very special shade of light pink.

Semi-formal pinks

Yuri Panchul — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:13:50 +0000

↑ Chansonette. Introduced in 1958. A seedling of ‘Shishigashira’.

↑ Enishi. Means “Charming Appearance” in Japanese. It is probably a synonym of 艶姿 (あですがた, Adesugata, “Sexy female body”).　Originated in Kumamoto. A seedling of a seed given to Kiyofusa Saito by Shigeru Sugiyama. This cultivar is recognized by Higo Sasanqua Society.

↑ Sarrel. A recent origination from Bobby Green in Fairhope, Alabama. Available from Camellia Forest Nursery, North Carolina. Very spreading, can be kept under 2 feet tall with pruning.

Dark pinks

Yuri Panchul — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:14:16 +0000

↑ Bonanza. C. x hiemalis, seedling of ‘Crimson Bride’. Originated by Tom Dodd Jr, Semmes, Alabama in 1962.

↑ Reverend Ida. A seedling of Shishigashira with deeper and more reddish color. A recent origination from Bobby Green in Fairhope, Alabama. Available from Camellia Forest Nursery, North Carolina.

Other species and hybrids

Yuri Panchul — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:48:37 +0000

↑ C. kissii. Wallich 1820. Was callected by botanist named Kiss. Wide range in Southeast Asia – SE China (Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan), Myanmar, Bhutan, northern India, Kampuchea, Laos, Nepal, Sikkim, Thailand and Vietnam. Highly variable, flowers have creamy yellowish tint, flowers in winter.

↑ Buttermint. A hybrid of C. kissii. Originated by Nuccio’s Nurseries, California in 1997. Keeps creamy yellowish tint, inherited from C. kissii parent.

↑ C. grijsii. Hance 1879. Was collected in 1861 in Fujian by C.F.M. de Grijs. Distributed in China: Fujian, Hubei, Sichuan, Guangxi. Tidy upright bushes, impressed veins, related to C. yuhsienensis that has larger flowers, there is a double form called ‘Zhenzhu Cha’. Grows to 11 ft (3 m) high, flowers winter to spring. C. yuhsienensis. Hu 1965. Discovered on the mountain Yuh Shan (You Xian) in Hunan in 1960s. Distributed in China: Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangdong. Best quality oil of any species, grows to 11 ft (3 m) high, flowers winter to spring, parent of ‘Yume’. Chromosome numbers: 2n = 30, 45, 75 and 90 (Gu, et al., 1988; Kondo, 1990; Xiao, et al., 1991).

↑ Yume. C. x hiemalis ‘Shishigashira’ x C. yuhsienensis. The name means “Dream” in Japanese. The flower has a very unusual alternation of white and pink petals. Originated in Japan.

↑ C. puniceiflora. Chang 1981. Distributed in China: Zhejiang, Hunan. Small leaves, grows up to 2 m (6 f) high.

↑ C. brevistyla form. rubida. C. brevistyla (Hay.) Cohen Stuart (1916) form. rubida P. L. Chiu (1987). Distributed in China in hilly areas of Longquan in Zhejiang Province. Chromosome number: 2n = 30 (Kondo, 1977).

↑ Gingetsu Perkins. A misnamed cultivar, sent to Nuccio’s Nurseries, California. Possibly a sasanqua-reticulata hybrid.

↑ Kai Mei’s Choice. C. sasanqua x (C. sasanqua x C. reticulata). Originated in Camellia Forest Nursery, North Carolina.

↑ Stars’N'Stripes. A chance seedling of ‘Christmas Rose’ (Williams’ Lavender x Shishigashira). Originated by Nuccio’s Nurseries, California.

Low growing and small foliage

Yuri Panchul — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:38:09 +0000

↑ Dwarf Shishi. A seedling of ‘Shishigashira’. Originated by Toichi Domoto, California in 1988.

↑ Jewel Box

↑ Twinkle, Twinkle. Originated by Nuccio’s Nurseries, California.

↑ Sasanqua Compacta. Very short leaf internodes. From Nuccio’s Nurseries, California.

↑ Slim’N'Trim. Originated by Nuccio’s Nurseries, California.

↑ Starry Pillar (N#9820). A chance seedling, might be a sasanqua-tenuiflora hybrid. Columnar habit. Originated by Nuccio’s Nurseries.

↑ Tanya. Introduced by Coolidge Rare Plants, east Pasadena, California in 1937. Produced from a seed imported from Japan in 1927.

A book from the Japanese Camellia Society ‘The Nomenclature of Japanese Camellias and Sasanquas’

Yuri Panchul — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:10:28 +0000

“The Nomenclature of Japanese Camellias and Sasanquas” ( 日本ツバキ・サザンカ名鑑 , Nippon Tsubaki　・ Sasanqua Meikan) is another “must have” book for any serious sasanqua lover. This book was published in 1999 by the Japanese Camellia Society ( 日本ツバキ協会編 , Nippon Tsubaki Kyoukai Hen) and Seibundo Shinkosha Co. Ltd. (　誠文堂　新光社　). This book is a work of more than 50 people who collected high-quality photo pictures and information on more than 2200 japonica and 200 sasanqua cultivars.

The book consists of two volumes – a volume in Japanese with pictures and a volume with English translation, created under the supervision of Thomas J. Savige. Note that in the book “The Japanese Camellia Society” is referred as “The Japan Camellia Society”.

The book has a short preface (4 pages), telling the history of the Japanese Camellia Society and the history of the book publication.

The Japanese Camellia Society was formed after the WWII, shortly after the formation of the International Camellia Society in 1953. It was the time of worldwide surge of interest in camellia growing and hybridizing.

The first nomenclature publication “Japanese Camellias, a Collection of 1000 varieties” (　日本の椿、千品種　, Nippon no tsubaki, Senhin-shu) was published in 1980, but it included only Camellia japonica ( 椿, tsubaki ) and had no infomation about sasanqua ( 山茶花 , sazanka).

After the International Camellia Society published a monumental International Camellia Register in 1993 with 22,000 cultivars, it became obvious that the Japanese nomenclature publication has to be updated. However, according to the Japanese Camellia Society, during the economic boom time, no Japanese publisher wanted to publish a camellia book, because of its low profitability – there were plenty of more profitable books around. So Japanese camellia lovers had to wait until the economy goes down!

After the preface, the book presents information about 2400 cultivars. Each cultivar’s information has a photo picture and a 100-Kanji description. Some cultivars have no photo pictures – they are described in the appendix. The description is brief and very informative – it describes the cultivar’s area of origin, color, shape, habit, name of the originator and first mention in the literature. I wish similar American publications (like Southern California Camellia Society) use the same style.

Finally, after more than 300 pages of cultivars, the book has a chapter about the camellia history (3 pages), an afterword (1 page), a translator’s note (1 page) and an index. I personally like this style because it is down to the point.

The chapter about camellia history is written by the President of the Japanese Camellia Society Dr. Kaoru Hagiya ( 薫屋薫 ). It contains an interesting thought about why Japanese people prefer single flowers while Westerners prefer double formal flowers:　”The fundamental difference is in that the Westerners treat flowers as kinds of decorations, while Japanese take flowers as the symbols of nature”.

The afterword is written by Shuho Kirino (　桐野秋豊　), a member of the editorial committee.

There is a translator’s note from Shigeo Matsumoto ( 松本重雄 ) who is asking forgiveness for his translation errors. I did find some ambiguities – for example, about the origin of ‘Shôwa-no-sakae’. However I personally like his style of translation because it has a feeling of the Japanese character. If the translator would be non-Japanese, the text would be less authentic.

Shigeo Matsumoto was using help from Thomas J. Savige from Australia who suggested to use Hepburn system in the translation according to the International Nomenclature Code. This is very important. Different books use different forms of English transliteration of Japanese names. For example ‘Shôwa-no-sakae’ is written as ‘Showa No Sakae’, or ‘Shishigashira’ is written as ‘Shishi Gashira’ or ‘Shishi Gashira’. It is important to understand that pronouncing “o” instead of “ô” may change the meaning of the word. However we are still using non-accented “o” on our www.sazanka.org web site because of English search engines. But the bottom line – “The Nomenclature of Japanese Camellias and Sasanquas” became for me the main reference for the proper name, pronunciation and the history of Japanese sasanqua cultivars.

This beauty shows its colors early

Yuri Panchul — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 01:59:01 +0000

A couple of week ago I got a call from journalist Lili Singer, who needed some information about Camellia sasanqua for her article in Los Angeles Times. Today this article was published. You can see my sasanqua cultivar recommendations in the article.

Dwarf Shishi. A seedling of ‘Shishigashira’. Originated by Toichi Domoto, California in 1988.

You can get the article from LA Times archive: http://tinyurl.com/64cyo7

THE CALIFORNIA GARDEN

This beauty shows its colors early

It’s not camellias as usual with sasanquas. They bask in the Southern California sun and bloom in the fall, and they ask for so little in return.

By Lili Singer
Special to The Times

November 30, 2006

ON warm autumn days, a fragrance rises from the sunlit crescent of ‘Dwarf Shishigashira’ camellias in Melinda and Allan Siegel’s backyard. The earthy scent is unusual — similar to tea — and it’s subtle, Allan says, just like the season.

Nothing subtle about the flowers, though: Bright rose-pink blooms cascade across the Siegels’ sunny Los Angeles garden.

Wait, you say. A winter-blossoming, shade-loving plant like the camellia flowering in the fall? And in the sun?

Absolutely. These early bloomers are sasanqua camellias, also known as the “sun camellias.”

“Most people don’t realize that they’re camellias,” says Elsie Bracci, a revered camellia devotee who, with husband Sergio, maintains a vast collection with 15 types of sasanqua in their San Gabriel garden. Few plants, the Braccis say, give so much yet ask for so little.

All this group of camellias wants is a good tan. The craving for sun, even inland, is partly what distinguishes sasanquas — the collective term for cultivars of Camellia sasanqua, C. xhiemalis and C. xvernalis — from the common cultivars of C. japonica and C. reticulata.

“Less than half a day of sun, and they won’t flower,” says Julius Nuccio, one of three family members operating Altadena-based Nuccio’s Nurseries, among the world’s premiere camellia growers.

Sasanquas do well with or without regular irrigation, and they live a remarkably long time. David Parks, owner of the Camellia Forest Nursery in Chapel Hill, N.C., says specimens have lasted 500 years in the right conditions.

Cultivars with lyrical names such as ‘Mine-No-Yuki’ (which translates to ‘White Doves’) and ‘Hana Jiman’ (‘Boastful Flower’) include low spreaders, compact uprights and small willowy trees. All have neat evergreen foliage and amazing pest resistance. Ask the Braccis what they love most, and the couple responds in unison: “No petal blight!” The fungus, which makes other kinds of camellia blossoms turn a sickly brown, has no effect on sasanquas. Flowers also arrive early — and in abundance.

“Sasanquas put on a massive show, then drop their petals for a carpet of white or pink snow,” says David MacLaren, curator of the camellia collection at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

AS enchanting as this scene can be, sasanquas have hardly been a garden staple, here or elsewhere. Though long-valued for oil-rich seeds and hardwood, the plants have fallen in and out of favor with gardeners since 14th century Japan.

The first sasanquas hit Europe in 1869, but most were lost to frost. By the early 1900s, sasanquas were being planted in the southern United States. Given the choice, however, most gardeners and garden show contestants eschewed delicate-looking sasanquas in favor of large-leafed C. japonica and C. reticulata, whose stately blossoms don’t fall apart when cut.

Tastes change, and these days, small and simple are in. Many gardeners want plants that are easy to grow, work in small spaces or simply look different, and sasanquas fit the bill.

“Look at the blotches on this flower,” Elsie Bracci says excitedly, pointing to cloud-white spots on the reddish petals of her favorite sasanqua, ‘Shibori Egao,’ whose name translates roughly to ‘Variegated Smiling Face.’

The ‘Shishigashira’ by the Braccis’ front door is larger than the Siegels’ dwarf cultivar but still a compact marvel, with scores of 2 1/2 -inch-wide flowers, each one a ruffled, rosy pink mane for a cultivar whose name means ‘Lion’s Head.’ The slow-growing bush has taken 12 years to rise to 5 feet.

Similarly, the Siegels’ snail-paced groundcover of ‘Dwarf Shishigashira’ is only 18 inches from front to back after seven years.

“Man, is it slow!” says Marie Gamboa, the Garden Pacific designer who planted the Siegels’ backyard. She backed the ‘Dwarf Shishis,’ as they are often called, with a row of the faster-growing ‘Cleopatra,’ a paler pink sasanqua with stamens that look like long gold eyelashes.

Over at the Bracci home, Elsie’s husband Sergio just pruned the ‘Shibori Egao’ with a chain saw — again — to keep its whip-like branches under their roofline. Whether a sprinter or a slow grower, all sasanquas want to be trees, says Yuri Panchul, a camellia enthusiast who is assembling what he hopes will be a definitive collection of sasanquas at his home in Sunnyvale, near San Jose.

In time, he says, sasanquas can reach 15 to 20 feet. Some are just pokier and more compressed than others.

IN its native habitat, the subtropical forests of southwest Japan, Camellia sasanqua is a variable species that breeds readily with other genetically compatible camellias. Offspring may be horizontal or vertical, compact or open.

Wild sasanqua flowers are typically single and white, sometimes with a blush like plum blossoms — thus the Japanese name sazanka, or “plum-flowered tea.”

During centuries of cultivation, more than 200 types of sasanquas have emerged. Flowers with few petals, flowers with many petals. Cupped like a rose, flat as a daisy. Luminous white, soft pink, the occasional red.

The breeding process is lovingly slow. The progression from seed to flower may take about five years, horticulturists say — “sometimes 14 or 20,” according to Panchul. Only one in 1,000 seedlings will yield qualities distinctive enough to be selected, named, registered and brought to the public.

Even so, many Southern Californians have been growing sasanquas in their gardens for years. They just didn’t know it. Sasanqua seedlings are used for grafting — as root-rot-resistant understock for cuttings of other camellias, says the Huntington’s MacLaren. That Camellia japonica in your garden just may owe its stellar performance to a Camellia sasanqua in an uncredited role.

This time of year, they’re also a reminder of the season’s delicate beauty. In the daytime, gentle bees and the occasional hummingbird hover over the pollen-rich flowers, searching for autumn in a teacup. By nightfall, in the quiet moonlight, you can almost hear the petals drop.

home@latimes.com

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View it, buy it, plant it

Interested in sasanqua camellias? Some ways to learn more:

Seeing: Two of the world’s best camellia gardens are in Southern California.

The Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino has Sasanqua Hillside plus plantings in and around the Japanese garden. Look for ‘Shishigashira’ near the giant bamboo Bambusa oldhamii as well as the ‘Dwarf Shishigashira’ on the opposite side of the road, planted near mondo grass. Information: (626) 405-2100, http://www.huntington.org .

At Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, more than 50 types of sasanquas await beneath oaks in the Camellia forest and in the Japanese garden. Information: (818) 949-4200, http://www.descansogardens.org .

Buying: Nuccio’s Nurseries is a world-renowned specialist in camellias and azaleas. Its catalog lists about 40 sasanqua cultivars. 3555 Chaney Trail, Altadena; (626) 794-3383; http://www.nucciosnurseries.com .

Planting: Plant or move sasanquas in autumn or winter, while they’re dormant. They do best in sunny spots with well-drained soil — no standing water.

Caring: Once established, plants can get by with regular or infrequent irrigation.

Some growers recommend feeding, in the spring through August. Nuccio’s recommends applying cottonseed meal in April, when new leaves appear; in June; and in August, when buds are starting to set. If desired, prune in spring for size or shape. On low, spreading varieties, prune upright branches.

Learning more: Though slightly dated, “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Camellias” by Stirling Macoboy includes more than 100 sasanquas, all with excellent color photos. Another reference: http://www.sazanka.org , the website of amateur grower and hybridizer Yuri Panchul.

— Lili Singer

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Standouts to show off

Fewer than 50 types of sasanqua camellias are grown for the nursery trade. ‘Jean May,’ a popular variety with cupped pink flowers, “is very nice,” sasanqua devotee Yuri Panchul says, “but others are good too.” In no particular order, 10 cultivars that Panchul says are unusual and overlooked:

‘Stars ‘n Stripes’: The first striped sasanqua. Blooms profusely. Nice round, shrubby shape.

‘Dwarf Shishigashira’: Almost horizontal. Very slow-growing.

‘Choji Guruma’: The only anemone-form sasanqua. Fast grower, upright.

‘Little Pearl’: Also recommended by Nuccio’s Nurseries. Pink opening to white.

‘Twinkle Twinkle’: Dwarf with little star-shaped flowers. Good in containers.

‘Yume’: A new hybrid. Unusual color (pink to white) and large, profuse flowers.

‘Egao’ group: Ancient natural hybrids. Large flowers.

‘Narumigata’: Large, flat, white flowers with cupped pink edges. Extremely fast grower — “totally insane,” Panchul says — with branches growing as much as 3 feet in one year.

‘Slim ‘n Trim’: Small leaf, vertical habit. Can be shaped like a small Italian cypress. Flat pink flowers.

‘Baby Jane’: Dwarf. Hybridized for bonsai. Grows only a few inches a year.

— Lili Singer