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Thu--d., °.o..b.,6 ,O,. &Garden
40t S. Main St. • Stillwater
405,372"1647 ' 800-671
love for camellias
Many moons ago I visited sustain my love.
Hearst Castle in northern Experience helped me
coastal California. I had to identify the differences
yet to become fully infatu- between the two principal
atel :with plants, nor had species of Camellia, C.
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'': , By LeeAnn ]
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I determined to pack my
Volvo and change resi-
dency. However this tour-
ist spot played its role of
temptress both botanically
and geographically. One
of my most vivid recol-
lections was of bright, fra-
grant camellias throughout
the castle grounds--it was
love at first sight. This was
in.the late 1970's and I
doubt anyone in Oklahoma
attempted to grow camel-
lias. They were a plant
for the Deep South and
temperate climates like
California.
Fast-forwarding a decade,
as I began to work and
eventually manage nurser-
ies in northern California,
my love for camellias had
not waned although every
variety that came through
.'the nursery lacked fra-
grance. I read and visited
,with more experienced
nurserymen than myself
and all agreed, I must have
misidentified the plants at
Hearst Castle for camellias
were scentless. By that time
the mere beauty of the shrub
and flowers were enough to
japonica and C, sasanqua.
The first is what comes
to most gardeners' minds
when the topic of camel-
lias arises. C. japonica is a
huge shrub with large flow-
ers; 100-year-old plants
may reach 20' x 20' with
flowers 4-5" across. Shades
of red, pink, white or varie-
gated flowers bloom in one
of six forms: single, semi-
double, peony, anemone,
rose or formal double...the
last being the picture of
symmetry. Humid climates
and spring rains occasion-
ally cause japonica's flow-
ers to blight, spot, mold or
drop; still my torrid love
continued. This species
cold tolerance falls some-
where between zones 7 and
8 (10 & 20°F). Recognizing
its limitations, I discovered
another camellia that grew
into my favorite.
C amellia sasanqua has
a leaf that is less broad
and slightly darker green
in color than her popular
sister. The flowers form
is usually less formal and
more open and smaller
(2-3"). It blooms earlier.
Flowering from November
to January, C. sasanqua
has earned the nickname
Christmas Camellia; this
"early" bloom period helps
avoid blossom diseases
associated, with warming
temperatures and high
humidity. Additionally, C.
sasanqua will take temper-
atures from 10-0°F. This
made it my "go-to" camel-
lia when I lived in northern
California, but still failed in
a couple attempts to grow
the beautiful 'Yuletide'
when I first moved back to
Stillwater.
I suppose once bitten
by the camellia bug, a
gardener will always be
infected. Three years ago
as I shopped in Tulsa I came
across a "hardy" camel-
lia named 'Snow Flurry'.
Those who know me, are
aware of the caution I use
when reading words like
"hardy" or"perennial" on a
plant's label for those terms
are relative to your location.
I want temperature ratings
or USDA zones at the least!
Nevertheless, I purchased
this sasanqua and planted
it next to the house for a
little added protection. It
lived through the summer,
opened five blossoms in
mid-December and actu-
ally grew some the follow-
ing spring (camellias are
relatively slow growers).
The following February
(2011) you may remem-
ber temperatures reaching
A hardy camellia named 'Snow Flurry'
-25°F. So much for the
camellia, I thought. Yet
brushing away mulch as
temperatures warmed I saw
one lone branch alive on
the bush. I was impressed.
That summer's 115 ° peaks
added strain to already
strained plants, but 'Snow
Flurry' hung in there. This
year it holds one lone bud,
but I am just as excited as
ever.
Gardener's may know that
this year the USDA revised
their zone map. Reviewing
data from 1976-2005, our
area's zone was changed
from Zone 6 to Zone 7a.
Overall, the new map
reflects the warming trends
that we see each summer,
but I wonder if that strange
fluke of -25 ° would have
affected our zone in any
way. Possibly not, but more
than a straight diagnosis of
global warming, I believe
as gardeners and farmers
we have to prepare for
extremes not only for heat
and cold, but for drought,
wind and storms. All of
that to say, when purchas-
ing plants, keep that in
mind.
In closing, a few morn-
ings ago I reached for a
small book acquired at the
Stillwater Library book sale
entitled by
Nell Warren Outlaw. The
author highlights a flower
and listens for its "voice" or
message it brings the world.
Searching for a column
idea, I turned to Camellia,
noticed the pencil drawing
of a formal double flower
and thought, "Perfect!"
A few paragraphs in the
author writes, "It seemed
to say: 'My word to the
world is not a heart mes-
sage. It is more of a heart's
yearning, and that yearning
is for perfection." Aha! I
knew it, I thought.
She continues to draw
analogies between the
camellia and our seeking
spiritual perfection. A few
pages over she states that
it failed to reach perfec-
tion because .... it had no
fragrance! By this time I
was smiling; a woman of
like mind. She goes on
to assert the camellias (as
we) will become perfect
in Heaven and there will
be fragrant.
However I know the
flowers at Hearst Castle
were camellias and they
were fragrant. A brief
search on the internet con-
firmed there are fragrant
camellias--a little piece
of Heaven on earth? Much
to my dismay I found none
that were fragrant and hardy,
but I'll keep looking for
breeders will keep breeding.
O'lahoma State Univer-
sity Extension has several
opportunities coming up
for advanced training on
a variety of horticultural
G:ift Ideas for the gardener on your Christmas list
begin in January for our of weekly sessions begin'- may be of interest. The in Perkins. Cost for this trogram, contact Stepha-
Payne County Master
Gardener volunteer pro-
gram. This year we are
offering the community
an opportunity to partici-
pate in the horticultural
training without requir-
ing a commitment to the
volunteer program. These
sessions consist of a series
topics. With Christmas
fast approaching, perhaps
one of these opportunities
might be just what the gar-
dener in the family needs.
Training sessions will
ning January 18 th and con-
tinuing through April 5%
Classes will meet at The
Botanic Garden at OSU on
Fridays from 1-5pm. Cost
of this program is $100.00.
Contact Keith Reed in the
Payne County Extension
Office for more infor-
mation on this pl;ogram.
Keith.reed@okstate.edu
or 405-747-8320.
The Department of Hor-
ticulture and Landscape
Architecture will also be
offering two classes that
2013 Oklahoma Grape
Management course is
offered to familiarize
present and potential
Oklahoma grape growers
with grape management
requirements throughout
the growing season. This
class will meet for a series
of sessions throughout the
year giving the participant
an opportunity to learn
based on real-time grow-
ing conditions. This class
will meet at the Cimarron
Valley Research Station
program is $250.00.
Also being offered is
the 2013 Fundamentals
of Pecan Management
course. Much like the
grape course, this course
involves 8 meetings over
the course of the grow-
ing season and covers all
aspects of pecan manage-
ment. Cost and meeting
place for this course is
the same as the grape
program.
For more information on
either the Grape or Pecan
nie Larimer at Stephanie.1
arimer@okstate.edu or by
calling 405-744-5404.
For more information of
this or any other horticul-
tural topic, you can contact
Keith Reed, the Horticul-
turist in the Payne County
Extension office. Keith
can be reached via email
at keith.reed@okstate.edu,
phone at 405-747-8320,
or in person at the Payne
County Extension office,
located at 315 W. 6 th in
Stillwater.
Christmas trees are safe if properly maintained
By Sean Hubbard
We have all heard the
warnings and seen the clips of
Christmas trees bursting into
flames and mining someone's
holiday season.
Unfortunately, the differ-
ence between fact and fiction
regarding Christmas trees is
not well defined.
"Christmas trees are
often made the culprit for
causing fires during the
holiday season," said Craig
McKinley, Oklahoma State
University Cooperative
Extension forestry expert. "A
Christmas tree cannot cause a
fire any more than your sofa,
your couch, or your waste
basket."
Oftentimes in the video
clip warnings, a "live" tree
has been set aside and dried
for long time before being
ignited.
"The media often let the tree
lay out in the hot sun for two
months before they try to torch
it," said Chuck Tauer, retired
OSU forest genetics professor
and Christmas tree grower.
"The truth of the matter is
that if you take a fresh-cut
Virginia pine and you stick it
in a stand with water, you'll
have a hard time getting that
thing to burn."
McKinley recalled a public
service announcement on the
news in another state several
years back in which the news
reporter tried to light a Fraser
fir with a match. When the
tree wouldn't go up in flames,
a small torch was used.
"The reporter couldn't get
the tree lit. You could then
see they cut the film, and
'wooompf,' they had a tree
fire," McKinley said. "The
reporter then said, 'Remem-
ber, a small spark such as this
could destroy your Christ-
mas.'"
McKinley couldn't believe
his eyes and wanted to clear
Christmas trees of any wrong-
doing.
"It's real easy for the fire
marshal to go bum one and
show it on TV," McKinley
said. "Obviously, we sug-
gest safety first at all times,
but often, the potential danger
of Christmas trees is exagger-
ated."
A very small percentage of
the time the tree was the first
item ignited, according to
McKinley. However, when
the rare occasion a tree does
catch on fire, we will hear
about it.
"Christmas time is a time of
joy, with lots of presents and
good times, so it is a dramatic
story when a fire occurs,"
McKinley said.
The number of fires involv-
ing Christmas trees has gone
down in the United States
since the use of lit candles
on trees has diminished.
That tradition continues in
parts of Europe, but those
trees have much more space
between branches to allow for
that type of decoration.
"We've learned that candies
on trees are not a good idea,
even if they are used in
Europe," McKinley said.
"Trees can be a fuel source,
and should be treated as such.
But, a number of other items
can also be fuel for a fire.
Simply.stated, trees don't
cause fires and are not inher-
ently dangerous."
Aside from lit candles in
Christmas trees, much con-
cem had been raised in the
past about how hot the lights
on the trees would get. With
new regulations on lights, that
is no longer a threat.
"The lights these days stay
rather cool," Tauer said. "That
might be why Christmas tree
fires are such a concern to
people, because tree lights
used to become quite hot."
With that said, McKinley
did offer a warning about
Christmas trees.
"One of the dangers you are
going to have with a Christ-
mas tree is getting gouged
in the eye with a pine, fir, or
spruce needle," he said. "So
be careful."
While Christmas trees are
safe in the house, if taken
care of properly, McKinley
advises consumers to be
smart and cautious about
keeping open flames away
from trees, and anything else
in the house.
Christmas trees come in
all shapes and sizes. Some
are harvested and used for
just one season, while others
are purchased with a longer
time frame in mind. No
matter which tree you choose
for this season, it is sure to add
to everyone's holiday spirit.
To keep that spirit alive year
round, or to just add to the
landscape, purchasing a live
ball-and-burlap tree is a good
option. Many Oklahoma tree
growers offer the ball-and-
burlap method of sales, but
many do not, so check that
out before visiting a farm.
"Some people buy a potted
or balled Christmas tree with
roots intact in the hope of
having a new landscape tree
come spring," said David
Hillock, Oklahoma State Uni-
versity Cooperative Extension
consumer horticulture special-
ist. "This is very difficult to do
successfully, but your chances
of success increase if the tree
is treated right."
First and foremost, keep
in mind which species of
tree is best suited to survive
Oklahoma's weather.
"Be careful what species
you choose, because Vir-
ginia pine doesn't make a
nice yard tree," said Chuck
Tauer, retired forest genetics
professor in the Division of
Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources atOSU.
"It requires way too much
care."
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