The trouble with high pressure
We have been visited by high pressure this week which has meant a lot less wind and rain than we have had in the past month. To say it is a relief is an understatement. The ground is drying out, the sun has been shining and it has been worth hoeing off the weeds – they have been wilting to my great satisfaction.
But with sunny days and no wind come cold nights and frost. It has not been a cold winter in general and even just one frosty night can do a lot of damage.
So here we have the story of a camellia flower in three chapters:
Chapter one – a glorious camellia flower preparing itself
Chapter two – a camellia flower looking lovely and out on the town
Chapter three – the morning after
I suppose that if this was a rose or a zinnia and was bred to be this colour I would give it rapturous praise. But it is sad when camellias are deprived of their potential.
The Biking Gardener 
Dang! That is nasty. I am glad that we need not contend with that. It looks like really bad camellia blight . . . which we do contend with when it rains for too long.
Camellia blight is here too but not always common – unlike frost damage. It is a risk we take trying to grow early-flowering plants.
Perhaps the chill and snow help to keep the blight down in the ground longer, rather than getting into the bloom straightaway. I suppose it does not matter if the bloom is ruined by the same chill the protected it.
Dang! That is nasty. I am glad that we need not contend with that. It looks like really bad camellia blight . . . which we do contend with when it rains for too long.
Is it the Camellia ‘japonicas’ cultivars which oblige by dropping their old flowers? C. ‘Brushfield’s Yellow’ is one which is certainly spoiled by the presence of old brown flowers but I pick them off and it helps keep the flowering period going.
No, it is the japonicas that hold on to their flowers. It is the ‘Williamsii’ camellias, such as ‘Donation’ and ‘Debbie’ that drop their ageing blooms, much to the consternation of many gardeners who worry why the flowers have dropped off. I think it adds to their beauty when there is a carpet of fallen flowers but then I like cherry blossom fluttering down in the breeze – though cherry blossom being ripped from the branches by gales is more common and less pleasant. ”Brushfield’s Yellow’ is a japonica and clings on to its old blooms – it is less offensive with reds and darker colours but nasty with the pale colours.
I’m back to front as usual!
🙂