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A Closer Look at Winter Damage

But first, take a look at this gorgeous rainbow that we had on Friday! The five-day stretch of warm temperatures last week really jump-started the garden. Now that plants are putting out new growth, it is easier to see what kind of damage the winter left. Back in mid-January, we experienced five straight days of below-freezing temperatures. This caused much damage in Portland and areas where frigid winds were a factor. Here, we were fortunate to not get the wind and the cold temperatures were dampened by a blanket of snow. That said, it was a tough time for the garden and there are noticeable casualties but no outright deaths that I have seen. The bottlebrush ( Callistemon 'Woodlander's Red') did not like the cold at all. It was planted six years ago, in the north-facing garden no less, and I've not experienced die-back on it until now. A local expert said to cut it all the way back so that is what I did. If it doesn't make it, I won't be too distraught. It is

Camellia "Taylor's Perfection"



Camellias are one of my favorite plants and I don't know why it took me so long to start growing them. When I did fall in love with them, I did it in a big way. I remember visiting a camellia specialty nursery in Birmingham and coming home with a truck load. I have lots of favorites but one that would be in my top ten is "Taylor's Perfection".




This camellia is the most profuse bloomer in the garden. The buds started opening last week and the bright pink semi-double flowers really light up the landscape. The buds open gradually so you can usually be assured of flowers for several weeks.

One drawback, and the only one I can think of, is that the flowers nod so, unless you want to get down on the ground, it is difficult to see them well. Our shrub is only about four feet tall and it is reputed to get six to eight feet tall. When it attains that height, the flowers can be better enjoyed. Still, it puts on quite a show in the garden.



Taylor's Perfection is classified as a C. x williamsii variety which is a cross of C. japonica and C. saluenensis. Its parentage is unknown but originated in 1975 with J. Taylor of Alton, New Zealand.



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Well no wonder its our state flower, Phillip. What a beautiful sight this dreary cold day in Chicago.

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  2. Taylor's Perfection is that - perfect! I have some old dark pink camellias, but I am becoming aware of the many others available and am considering developing a camellia walk. Maybe! If so, I will definitely include this one.

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  3. Phillip,
    Taylor's perfection resembles the pink camellia I posted a photo of one post back. The stamens on ours seem about twice as large as yours. We bought ours at the local nursery that mainly sells to the landscape companies.

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  4. Is it fair that you can grow Roses AND Camillias? I don't think so, but I agree that Taylor's Perfection is named perfectly. What a beauty.

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  5. A tiny bit of shortening of limbs after bloom season is over will help with the nodding. I know it's hard to clip off any of a growing camellia, but you could root the clippings.

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  6. We have one in the store right now. Everyone wants red. I love it. I spotted one a few days ago down the street from me. It's against someone's house so I will need to ask permission for those cuttings. Beautiful blooms.

    I think I've fallen for Camellias too. I want to ring the backyard with them.

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  7. What beautiful flowers! They remind me of a rose. Even taken with the flower nodding it's pretty because you can see the petals in a different way.

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  8. It took me too many years to fall in love with camellias as well, but I've fallen hard. "Taylor's Perfection" is a lovely specimen and looks nice in its setting. Your last photo is gorgeous!

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  9. Phillip, I love Taylor's Perfection....White By The Gate is my only camellia and i can see a few of these pink beauties in the back garden...it's shadier and the soil is deeper. Can you recommend a good mail order source...No one really carries them here...I suspect they are still considered iffy for even a zone 7 garden! gail

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  10. The juxtaposition of the delicate blossoms and the rustic, old wood is lovely.

    In the 20+ years we've lived in our house, our camellias have never been this beautiful. Wish we had Taylor's Perfection.

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  11. They really do have beautiful flowers. Eucharis nod off the same way. Both have simple but very elegant flowers.

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  12. It's spectacular Philip! I sure wish I could grown them here! Larry

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  13. Camelia Specialty nursery?!!!! Whoa! That would be so awesome!
    I love the last photo with the water drops! Lovely!

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  14. Beautiful! I understand the attraction to camellias. Stunning and rewarding. If only I didn't have deer! I tried sasanqua at the house before this and the deer did munch away.

    If you ever come to Chapel Hill, you should visit Camellia Forest Nursery!

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  15. It's real easy to see why this is one of your favorites. The color and the number of blooms make this plant nearly perfect. As always, I have pangs of envy for you southerners who can grow them.
    Marnie

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  16. That is a really nice pink. You are lucky you can grow the outside reliably.

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  17. I was a gardener a long time before I fell for shrubs.If I could grow camellias, I totally would. (esp. the one you get tea from, lol!). They're all so lovely.

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  18. Ah, I love all your camellias. That one is really a stunner. I've only got two baby camellias and I keep having squirrel problems with them - the squirrels climb on the bush (sometimes breaking a branch while doing so) and then they proceed to eat the flowers! It's quite maddening but I don't know what to do about it. Guess they just need to get bigger so both the squirrels and I can enjoy the blooms.

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  19. Beautiful Phillip. Thank you for sharing some perfection. They look like flowers on a cake to me.~~Dee

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  20. I love camellias too. I planted several camellias years ago, and they thrive with benign neglect. The oldest ones are 8 feet tall.

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  21. We recently bought a tiny 85 ear old cottage in Oakland California, that came with a camellia that is taller than our house. I doubt I'll ever learn the name of this beautiful flower.

    http://howsrobb.blogspot.com/2010/03/whose-garden-is-this.html

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  22. I'm a few years late to this post - but just saw Taylor's Perfection for the first time today, and was looking up information. Yours is lovely - besides the heart-shaped petals, I liked that the not-fully-opened flowers were facing down, as if they were bells. Quite a beauty!

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