christian, ooh lala. a magnificient bloom. david

Thank you, david. ;)

I know that you are probably laughing at the redundancy of 'island in Japan' now. Like Fujiyamasan. :)

one of the nicest variegated camellia flowers i have seen. i like that pattern better than the striped ones. i have admired this one in catalogs for a few years now.

How about a cutting that I could root? David

Ill be happy to send you a cutting David...along with some more ginkgo seeds. ;)

Ill post some more info and a photo of the whole plant when the next bloom appears.

-christian

WOW. Beautiful. Can I have some cuttings, too. Its very georgeous! I can trade spotted aucuba or gardenia for them.

hey christian, no blooms yet? :) david

christian, i tried to order tama no ura, but the nursery was not able to get it. may i have a few cuttings? i can pick them up when i see you in march. david

Sorry your nursery couldnt get it, david... really suprising since Nuccio's is down the coast from you. I will be happy to bring you some cuttings when we visit. I still havent planted it yet, but here is a photo to give an idea of this camellia's shape.

-christian

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Christian, holy moly, it is a beautiful flower. Thanks, I will shared this with the local nursery people and see if they will make another effort to find this variety. See you in march. David Oh, it march, oops, see you in a couple of weeks. DAvid

Thank you for your post. I was so impressed with your bloom picture. I had to find it, and I did. I had to order it from the east but I now have it in the ground putting on new foliage as we speak. Hopfully I will start to see blooms like yours within a year.

Im so glad that you could find it, Ken. The only nursery I have seen carrying it is Camellia Forest in Chapel Hill, NC. By some grace of the powers that be, a local nursery had picked up a few specimens from an expo show (probably from Cam Forest), and this is where I purchased mine. It put on about 5 nice blooms this season and it looks like there is still one left to go. They say that the white edging is much less prominent and even absent on some of the late blooms, which adds even more interest IMO. I am glad that my photos inspired you to get one.

-christian

Any idea how well this variety will do in Marietta, GA, zone 7a.

Any idea how well this variety will do in Marietta, GA, zone 7a.

Hey Pansyface,

The tag says that this camellia is good to zone 7, and since Marietta, GA is south of Greenville where I live, cold hardiness shouldnt be an issue. I expect that it will do great if planted in an appropriate location.

Shes currently in bloom, so ill try to post another photo later if there is any interest.

-christian

There's definitely interest, Christian! I just purchased one of these after falling in love with your picture. Did you plant yours in the ground or in that pot? I'm wondering because I rent and I'm hoping to keep mine in a container for a few years until I get a house. Also, I'm in Greenville, SC too! I got mine at Underwood Nursery this week.

Here are some crummy pictures of mine, mainly b/c it's dark outside so I took the pics inside. Also, the one open flower is starting to fade. I love it anyway!

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Ditto entirely, Christian, to the chorus of slack-jawed admiration and jealousy. I've been ogling this little camellia for about a year now, and after yet another gaze at it, I think I pretty much have to spend the money and make room too.
May I ask - when does it bloom for you and how long?
Thanks,
James.

Great looking camellia, Summer. I bought the last 'Tama no ura' from Underwood's nursery last autumn and was delighted to find that they had them in stock again this year. I planted mine in the ground this spring and it seems to be quite happy sending forth an abundance of early(?) flowers, but im sure that yours will do fine in a container indefinately if you give it the proper care...after all they are grown as bonsai in Japan. Just be aware that containerized plants are more susceptible to cold weather than in ground plants, so you may want to put it in a protected location.

James, it is a seductive little flower!
Its hard to give an accurate account of bloom time since my camellias have been very early this year. The 'tnu' started blooming in late October, and is probably in peak season right now, but again, i dont believe that is the standard for the variety. Yukio in Oregon also has one, which he told me is just now beginning to show some color on a bud... Cam Forest calls it an early to midseason bloomer.

Boy, that'll be a switch ...someone in Oregon ordering a plant from the Carolinas! ;)

-christian

James,
As Christian said my tnu is starting to show color and hopefully it will bloom soon. My TNU also came from Greenville, SC. I will keep you posted as to the duration of bloom time. I am so excited about this first bloom.
THANKS CHRISTIAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
David

Thanks for your feedback Christian & David! (and yes, we are awfully spoiled with great nurseries out here in Oregon, Christian).
Wow - these guys are really fall-blooming? Maybe it's one of those plants-in-pots-do-wierd-things things - we have a couple of new spider azaleas that are still blooming away.
David ~ may I ask where you ordered yours? I've seen it listed on camforest.com, and just checked out Underwood's website, but they no longer ship to the west coast.
I look forward to hearing how it goes, guys. You have my jealousy! :)
James.

Here is a link that might be useful: check out that bonai!

I should add that I did find tnu listed on Roslyn Nursery's website, but their feedback on Garden Watchdog makes me wince.
James.

Wow, James that bonsai pic is amazing! Can I ask where you got the spider azaleas you mentioned? I have been looking for one FOREVER!

And, Christian, don't you love Underwood? Every time I go I find something that I can't live without. Do you have a picture of your TNU now? I'd love to see how many blooms it has.

Yeah, isn't that bonsai a scream, summer?
Well (no gloating intended), I bought our spiders by driving over to Greer's Gardens (http://www.greergardens.com) and picking them up. They had a bunch in stock in September. They tend to be a bit on the pricey side, but they know what they're doing and have what you want a lot of the time. They list this as Rhododendron macrosepalum "Linearifolium" which I understand is the old-school name.
Pictures I'd seen online make them look awfully cool, and the real thing truly lives up to the promise. They're kinda freaky-cool looking, and there's nothing else in my garden that looks a bit like them.
Regards,
James.

Here is a link that might be useful: paghat's take on spider azaleas.

Christian and jeepers,
I had my first bloom yesterday. I took it to the temple as an offering of gratitude . Yahoo! thanks again Christian. Post those other pics you have taken. David

Jeepers,
I got mine from someone on the east coast. I couldn't find it here so, a kind, thoughtful and generous friend mailed the plant. I am planning to start some cuttings this year, and/or share some cuttings with Portland Nursery. Sorry, I can't be of more help. David