Camellia sasanqua (Japanese: サザンカ, 山茶花, Chinese: 茶梅) is a fall-flowering ornamental shrub related to Camellia japonica and Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. Camellia sasanqua is native to Japan and China, and popular in the United States, warmer parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Yuri Panchul, the creator of this website, is a camellia hybridizer living in Sunnyvale, California. Yuri's articles about sasanquas appeared in American Camellia Yearbook, The Camellia Journal and other publications.
Американское Общество Камелий одобрило заявку на регистрацию двух сортов Camellia sasanqua ‘Silicon Valley’ и ‘Sunnyvale Carnival’ выведенных Юрием Панчулом
У меня большое событие – пришло письмо из Американского Общества Камелий, что они официально зарегистрировали два сорта камелий, которые я вывел, после 20 лет отбора и оценки нескольких сотен сеянцев. Я мечтал быть создателем новых сортов цветов с детства, когда я читал роман Дюма “Черный Тюльпан”, книжку про селекционера георгин […]
The American Camellia Society approved for registration two new Camellia sasanqua cultivars: ‘Silicon Valley’ and ‘Sunnyvale Carnival’ originated by Yuri Panchul
The American Camellia Society approved for registration two new Camellia sasanqua cultivars: ‘Silicon Valley’ and ‘Sunnyvale Carnival’ originated by Yuri Panchul. ‘Silicon Valley’ produces rare, for a sasanqua, formal double flowers, and ‘Sunnyvale Carnival’ makes globular loose peony-shaped flower, especially when grown in semi-shade. Both plants tolerate sun much better […]
A new Sasanqua seedling with unusually short internodes and long leaves
A description from Backyard Hybridizer – an article by Yuri Panchul in American Camellia Yearbook 2017: “Camellia hybridization is not only about flowers. The value of some seedlings is in unusual leaves. A seedling YP0032, with the tentative name ‘Sunnyvale Dark Knight’, does not even look like a typical camellia. […]
A new Sasanqua seedling that attracts attention with bright globular shape flowers
My new Camellia sasanqua seedling: Yuri Panchul YP0044, tentative name ‘Sunnyvale Carnival’. It was praised by well-known nurserymen and camellia collectors Tom Nuccio, Daniel Charvet and Brad King. UPD: This seedling was officially approved for registration with the American Camellia Society on January 9, 2020, ACS registration number 3175. The […]
Backyard Hybridizer – an article by Yuri Panchul in American Camellia Yearbook 2017 – full text
Backyard Hybridizer An article by Yuri Panchul in American Camellia Yearbook 2017 Growing your own seedlings is an intriguing addition to one’s camellia hobby. You don’t have to be a nurseryman to hybridize, select, register your own cultivars, and then market them to the camellia-growing community. You can do it […]
Camellia Flower Show in Redwood City, California
At the annual Camellia Flower Show of San Francisco Peninsula Camellia Society, Bay Area camellia enthusiasts present their newly-opened flowers in competition for best bloom. This show is a prime place to meet with camellia growers and hybridizers, learn about the art of camellia growing and buy a well-selected plant […]
‘Panaché de Gaujacq’ – one of only four striped sasanquas I ever saw
A couple years ago I went to Nuccio’s and Tom Nuccio gave me a scion of a rare Camellia sasanqua ‘Panaché de Gaujacq’, This is only one of four striped sasanquas I ever saw: ‘Stars’N’Stripes’ from Nuccio’s, ‘Autumn Carnival’ from Camellia Forest Nursery, ‘Panaché de Gaujacq’ and my own seedling […]
The former King of Red among sasanquas, Camellia x vernalis ‘Yuletide’
Camellia x vernalis ‘Yuletide’. Before ‘Mieko Tanaka’ appeared, ‘Yuletide’ was the closest to true red color cultivar in C. sasanqua group. Originated by Nuccio’s Nurseries, California in 1963. A seedling of ‘Hiryu’.
A new sasanqua seedling with “rabbit ear” petals
A new Camellia sasanqua seedling originated by Yuri Panchul (Yuri Panchul #0148). The flower is pink, irregular double, medium size, sometimes include “rabbit ear” petals. The growth habit is spreading. Similar cultivars include ‘Showa-no-sakae’ and ‘Rosette’ but they don’t form “rabbit ear” petals. Новый сеянец камелии горной (Camellia sasanqua), временное […]
A new sasanqua seedling with flat formal double pink flower and upright growth habit
A new Camellia sasanqua seedling originated by Yuri Panchul (Yuri Panchul #0138). The flower is pink, formal double, quite flat and relatively small (45-50 mm). The leaves are on smaller side (45×25 mm), the branches are sturdy and the growth habit is upright. A similar cultivar is ‘Chansonette’ but ‘Chansonette’ […]
‘Shikoku Stars’ under the frost
One December morning (to be precise on the morning of December 9, 2009), I went to my garden and saw this beautiful scene: a Camellia sasanqua ‘Shikoku Stars’ under the frost. Don’t you think it is a Winter Wonderland? This camellia is actually not a cultivar but a selection of […]
Dan Charvet / Heartwood Nursery in Fort Bragg, CA
Dan Charvet is a camellia hybridizer working in northern California, near a small city called Fort Bragg. The climate of the area is practically frost-free, but at the same time cool and foggy because of proximity to the ocean. The nursery area is surrounded by conifer forests with Redwoods, Douglas […]
Kira-Shiro-Kantsubaki, 吉良白寒椿
C. x hiemalis ‘Kira-shiro-kantsubaki’. 吉良白寒椿. Names means “Kira’s White Winter camellia”. Released in 1960s by Kira Firm of Nishio City. Medium-compact, well-formed spreading plant with double white flowers of pretty shape. A modest but reliable seed producer. I use it in my hybridization program because of habit, good shape of […]
A new striped Camellia sasanqua seedling #0108
I got a new striped Camellia sasanqua seedling in my garden. Right now its name is #0108. Striped sasanquas are rare so it is an important find. I observed only two other striped sasanquas – ‘Stars’N’Stripes’ from Nuccio’s Nurseries and ‘Autumn Carnival’ from Camellia Forest Nursery. #0108 is a seedling […]
Camellia sasanqua ‘Midnight Lover’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Midnight Lover’. A new introduction from Camellia Forest Nursery. The color is crimson pink, not true red like in ‘Yuletide’ and ‘Mieko Tanaka’. The flower shape is interestingly asymmetrical. This is a nice plant, but I will probably give it to somebody since 1) I already have both […]
Featured giveaway – ‘Miss Ed’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Miss Ed’ is a very unreliable beauty. Sometimes (like 1 time out of 100) you get a strikingly beautiful flower from this plant, but 99 times out of 100 you don’t. Most ‘Miss Ed’ flowers suffer from a combination of not particularly well-formed petals with deformed stamens. I […]
Featured giveaway – ‘Sarrel’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Sarrel’ is a nice low-growing, almost creeping plant with large pink double flowers. Unfortunately it does not feet my breeding objectives (small leaves) so I gave it away. Here is what Camellia Forest Nursery catalor says about it: “This spreading plant could easily be kept under two feet […]
Featured annual giveaway: ‘Gingetsu Perkins’
I got this plant from Tom Nuccio. Tom told me that he got it from a person named Perkins under the name ‘Gingetsu’. Obviously this plant is not ‘Gingetsu’ because the real ‘Gingetsu’ is a well-known white Camellia sasanqua, from Higo-sazanka group of cultivars, originated in Japanese province of Kumamoto. […]
Featured annual giveaway: ‘Tiny Gem’
This new little camellia looks very unusual for anybody except probably a hardcore Camellia botanist. The flowers of ‘Tiny Gem’ are tiny, stamens have orangish tint, small dark leaves are unusually serrated, stem nodes and internodes do not look like anything in japonica-sasanqua-reticulata world. In addition, ‘Tiny Gem’s’ growth habit […]
Anemone form Camellia oleifera ‘Jaune’
Camellia oleifera is a relative of Camellia sasanqua. This gorgeous anemony-form ‘Jaune’ cultivar with a ball of yellow petaloids is very rare in the United States. Three years ago I got a scion in our local camellia club, grafted it, and finally it is blooming in my garden. A British […]
A miniature Camellia sasanqua ‘Jewel Box’ grafted on ‘Kanjiro’ tree
I mentioned this sasanqua in an article Camellias for Dwarfs and Elves that was published in American Camellia Yearbook 2011: ‘Jewel Box’ is the smallest of sasanqua cultivars – its typical leaf is just 30×12 mm as comparing to a more regular leaves of sasanqua cultivar ‘Jean May’ that measures […]
Camellia sasanqua botany
Camellia sasanqua botany (with pictures) Yuri Panchul, June 2003 Camellia sasanqua ‘Shikoku Stars’. A wild variety. Camellia miyagii Contents Taxonomy Species Compatibility Chromosomes Books Articles Camellia puniceiflora Camellia brevistyla var. rubida Taxonomy There are three most recent classification systems of the genus Camellia frequently referred in Camellia literature: Sealy 1958 […]