Reticulata camellias - American Camellia Society

Reticulata camellias:
There is more than meets the eye!
Article and Photos....
by Bradford King
The Camellia reticulata have been cultivated in China
for more than a thousand years, where they grow
mainly in the west and southeast section of Yunnan
Province. Yunnan is located in the southwestern region
of China where mountains, rivers and abundant rainfall occur.
Camellias are preserved at large temples and monasteries in
the area, with some trees having bloomed for a hundred years and
still at it. The center of camellia culture is Kunming. The Kunming
Botanical Institute has done extensive investigation on the indigenous
reticulata. They have identified fourteen ancient cultivars.
One of the most common is ‘Shizitou’ which we call ‘Lion Head’.
They found two 23-foot tall trees estimated to be six hundred years
old. The eye can’t tell us but Camellia reticulata species and individual
specimens are very long lived woody plants. (Figure 1:
Lion Head.)
Figure 1: ‘Lion Head’
tain Rawes’.) It is believed to have been collected by John Reeves
the Chief Inspector of Tea for the East India Company in Canton.
Captain Richard Rawes brought it to England. The Yunnan reticulata
came to America through Descanso Gardens and Ralph Peer
in 1948. Australia also imported the reticulata in 1948 and 1949.
DISTRIBUTION
The first record of C. reticulata being introduced to another
country was in1673 to Japan. The cultivar was called ‘To-Tsubaki’,
which means Tang Dynasty Camellia. This is the same camellia introduced
to England as ‘Captain Rawes’ in 1820. (Figure2: ‘Cap-
Figure 2: ‘Captain Rawes’
8 The Camellia Journal

New Zealand received them from America and Australia before
directly importing them from China in 1964. In more recent times
they have become a Chinese export to Burma, Indonesia, Laos,
Vietnam, Albania, Thailand, and parts of the old Soviet Union.
China’s trade with other countries is no longer as restricted as the
country has become the number two world economy. We can only
hope the Chinese will export other camellia species more readily.
My eyes wait for C. chuangtsoensis, the bright yellow repeat
blooming flower. (Figure 3: ‘C. chuangtsoensis’.)
SINGLE FLOWERS
In China there are now at least 120 reticulata cultivars, with new
seedlings being produced regularly that we know very little about.
In the West approximately 800 cultivars have been introduced with
reticulata in their lineage. While the large and very large flowers
are the most sought after, there are smaller cultivars being bred. In
America the show flowers seem to drive the popularity of reticulata
hybrids but this is not the case in China. The Chinese have
introduced single flowers in two forms — trumpet and magnolia.
The former has short flat petals and looks like a trumpet when
fully open; the latter has straight rather long petals, and when fully
open, looks like a magnolia flower. For example, a single trumpet
form named ’Biyu’ has light pink flower with flushes of red on the
petal edges. In America we have ‘Kogane-yuri’, a light yellow,
small, single tubular flower that originated in Japan. It’s valued
because it has many pale yellow flowers that bloom up and down
its stems and branches. (Figure 4: ‘Kogane-yuri’.) In addition,
‘Crimson Candles’ would probably be classified as tubular. It has
a rose red, single, medium bloom which grows vigorously. It has
great value as a cold hardy (Zone 7A) landscape camellia. An example
of the magnolia form from China is ‘Qiaoyulan’ which is
spinel pink. I am unaware of reticulata flowers in America with a
magnolia form.
Figure 3: ‘C. chuangtsoensis’ - Photo by Gao Jiyin
SEMIDOUBLE FLOWERS
The Chinese discuss three semidouble flower forms: lotus, wavy,
and butterfly. These are very helpful ways of describing semidouble
reticulata flowers. It gives additional characteristics that can
help identify and distinguish among flowers with this common reticulata
form.
The lotus type has flat, regularly arranged petals with flowers
that look, when fully open, like the East Indian Lotus. One lotus
type from China is called ‘Luanyeyinhong’ and is known in the
United States as ‘Ovate Leaf Pink’. Many of our reticulata hybrids
fit here: ‘Queen Bee’, ‘Hulyn Smith’, ‘Margaret Hilford’, ‘LASCA
Beauty’ and ‘Valley Knudsen’. (Figure 5: ‘LASCA Beauty’.)
The wavy type has undulating petals. A wavy form semidouble
in China is called ‘Zuijiaohong’, which, in English, is “Intoxi-
Figure 4: ‘Kogane-yuri’
March - May 2012 9

Figure 7: ‘Fiesta Grande’.
cating Charming Red”. There are many Chinese and
American cultivars with this form. Popular ones developed
in America are ’Buddha’,’ California Sunset’
‘Francie L’, ‘Fire Chief’, ‘Curtain Call’, and ‘Nuccio’s
Ruby’. (Figure 6: ‘Curtain Call’.)
The butterfly type has outer petals that are larger and
flat with inner ones twisted and upright. In America this
may be described as “rabbit-eared”. A butterfly wing
type from China is ‘Datahong’; in America it is known
as ‘Crimson Robe’. This form makes for very attractive
hybrids. Popular reticulata hybrids in America are
‘Arch of Triumph’, ‘Frank Houser’, ‘Fiesta Grande’,
‘Emma Gaeta’, and ‘Howard Asper’. (Figure 7: ‘Fiesta
Grande’ and Figure 8: ‘Frank Houser’.)
DOUBLE FLOWERS
The third Chinese category is “flowers fully double”,
which has three types: rose, radiate, and peony. This
seems less helpful than our categories: anemone, loose
peony, peony, rose form double, and formal double
form, which provides more in-depth description of
the flower forms. The radiate group has few cultivars
listed. The petals are flat, overlapping, irregular, and a
radiating arrangement with inconspicuous stamens and
pistils. We can find this form in a few formal double
japonica and hybrid flowers, for example, ‘Punkin’.
(Figure 9: C. hybrid ‘Punkin’.)
There is more than meets the eye when categorizing
reticulata flowers because some cultivars will produce
two or three and even four flower forms. ‘Dr. Clifford
Parks’ is a great reticulata with its rich red complicated
flower that are at times anemone, loose peony, peony,
and semidouble butterfly-wing type. (Figure 10: ‘Dr.
Clifford Parks’, a loose peony form.) Likewise, ‘John
Hunt’ can be semidouble butterfly-type or loose peony.
It has a beautiful and very large pink flower. (Figure 11:
‘John Hunt’, a semidouble butterfly-type.)
FORMAL DOUBLE
The best example of a formal double reticulata with a
rose bud center is the beautiful and popular ‘Valentine
Day’. (Figure 12: ‘Valentine Day’.) ‘Harold L. Page’ is
a very large rose form double with a terrific bright red
flower that comes late in the season, which may mean
it arrives too late for camellia shows unless it is gibbed.
(Figure 13: ‘Harold L. Page’.) ‘Miss Tulare’ is another
wonderful very large red flower which is usually a
rose form double but may also grow as a ruffled peony.
(Figure 14: ‘Miss Tulare’, as a rose form double.) A
multi-toned pink flower that is a rose form double is
the lovely and very large ‘Phyllis Hunt’. (Figure 15:
‘Phyllis Hunt’.) One of the most beautiful loose peony
reticulata flowers is ‘Ruta Hagmann’. (Figure 16: ‘Ruta
Hagmann’.) The light pink has deeper tones of coral
pink on the petal edges. There don’t seem to be many
full peony reticulata. However, one very large soft orchid
pink is ‘Jean Pursel’. The Chinese cluster loose
and full peony together. The most popular in the USA is
‘Damano’ (‘Cornelian’) which has a large, variegated
rose red flower. (Figure 17: ‘Cornelian’.)
10 The Camellia Journal

Figure 5: ‘LASCA Beauty’ Figure 6: ‘Curtain Call’
Figure 8: ‘Frank Houser’ Figure 9: ‘Punkin’
Figure 10: ‘Dr. Clifford Parks’ Figure 11: ‘John Hunt’
March - May 2012 11

Figure 12: ‘Valentine Day’
SUMMARY
The common saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” applies
to the camellia reticulata species. There is so much more than
meets the eye. It took historical investigation to discover that some
trees are hundreds of years old and that C. reticulata is a very old
species with records going back over a thousand years in China.
The eyes certainly are key to the enjoyment of the magnificent
reticulata flowers, but no one pair of eyes can see the diversity
of even one cultivar. We may think that the flower form we see
in our home garden is the way this cultivar always looks. Various
micro climates interacting with the flower’s unseen genetics can
create different flower forms on the same cultivar. A rich iron soil
may produce a darker red flower than one with depleted soil. We
all know that lack of moisture and hot weather impacts the flower
size. We can extend our vision and knowledge about camellias at
shows, but again our eyes only can see what is presented. There
are hundreds of beautiful reticulata that are not show varieties. It
is rare for a small or even a medium reticulata to get to the head
table. There are yellow, cold hardy, and other great camellias that
make good landscape plants that you may not see. Finally there are
reticulata hybrids in China that few Western eyes have seen.
Figure 15: ‘Phyllis Hunt’
Figure 16: ‘Ruta Hagmann’
Figure 13: ‘Harold Page’
Figure 14: ‘Miss Tulare’
Figure 17: ‘Cornelian’
12 The Camellia Journal

Ma rd _ Ma} 2012
Figure 5: 'LASCA Beauty'
Figure 10: 'Dr, Clifford Pam.'
Figure 6: 'Curtain Call'
Figure 11: 'Jolm Hunt'