GARDENING : Camellias: Beauties of Winter
When camellias, those lush blooms that flourish in California gardens in the winter months, first came to the West from the Orient, they arrived in rocking, wind-battered boats. This weekend, when Chuck Gerlach delivers his prized blooms to the Pacific Camellia Society Show, he will cradle his precious cargo in boxes of cotton.
But this type of fussing isn’t anything new for the camellia. The plant has been held in the highest regard for centuries in its Asian homeland, decorating everything from architecture to textiles.
For Westerners like Gerlach, the camellia is something to be pampered and presented to fellow gardeners and admirers. Gerlach’s La Crescenta yard, shaded by big oak trees, is stocked full of 160 of the plants. He’s nurturing about 70 varieties--all planted in the ground. Camellias can be grown in pots and kept outside or inside, Gerlach says, but he believes his growing method makes the camellias “much easier to take care of.”
Camellias grow best in filtered sunlight and in an acid soil, Gerlach says. The shrubs and trees like a moist soil, but not a soggy one.
“We’ve had an exceptionally warm winter,” Gerlach reports. “I soak the plants twice a week when it’s warm, every 10 days when it’s cold. When it’s cold and rainy, I just leave them.”
Once a camellia plant is established (three to five years), “rainwater is enough,” he adds.
For Gerlach, a retired TV and electronics salesman, growing camellias “is a wonderful hobby,” but a hobby he takes quite seriously, as evidenced by his involvement in camellia shows and meetings.
“If you’re in competition like I am,” he says, “it’s like running a baseball team. The ones that don’t win, you give away and bring something in that has the ability to win.”
The Camellia japonica is the most popular of the four main species grown in California. It grows in all six of the camellia flower forms--single, semi-double, formal double, peony, anemone and rose forms--and in every color, from white to pink to dark red.
Another popular species is the Camellia reticulata. It doesn’t bear as many blooms, but what it lacks in number it makes up for in size. Its blooms can reach nine inches across, according to descriptions in Sunset Books, and colors vary from red to medium pink. The reticulata, whose name means “netted” or “veined,” also is identified by its indented and more prominent leaf veining. It is more tree-like than the japonica.
Because of the mild winters, camellias thrive here. But what makes the camellia such a popular plant in California gardens, Gerlach says, is that it blooms in the wintertime . . . “plus, when there are no blooms, it has the beautiful green foliage.”
Even if the temperature does drop enough to chill most thin-blooded Californians, camellias can take it, Gerlach says. “It can get down to three or four degrees above zero and (the camellias) will survive.”
Gerlach estimates that there will be from 800 to 1,200 blooms on display at the Pacific Camellia Society Show, today and Sunday at the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum. Among the exhibitors will be representatives of camellia clubs all over the state.
What’s special about the show, Gerlach says, is that it’s what those in the business call a “gib show,” which means the growth and luster of the flowers have been enhanced with gibberellic acid. With applications of the chemical, “it brings them out sooner and in most cases they’re larger,” Gerlach explains.
There will be growers on hand at the show who will demonstrate the process.
The show runs today, 1-4:30 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at the Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. For information, call (818) 446-8251. The show is free with admission to the Arboretum: adults, $3; seniors 62 and older and students 13-17, $1.50; children 5-12, 75 cents; 4 and under free.
