Monday, January 28, 2013

'Crimson Candles'



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I was busy in the garden this weekend finishing up the last things on the to-do list before spring. The garden is all cleaned up with the exception of a few stray leaves that I will suck up with the lawn mower next weekend. You know how it is; you never have EVERYTHING caught up in the garden. There is always something that needs to be done, but I’m feeling good about where I am with it right now. While I was tidying up, I was really surprised by everything that was blooming. Of the things in flower I decided to stick with ‘Crimson Candles’ for this post. It’s such a beautiful vision in pink.

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I could never figure out why this Camellia was named crimson when it blooms so pink. Most especially since there are crimson colored blossoms on other cultivars. The only explanation I can think of is the buds. They’re a much deeper tint and although I’m color deficient they do appear a shade of red to me. I still wouldn’t call them crimson in my opinion. Look at the fuzzy little hairs on the bud.

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What I’ve read on this shrub would indicate it’s a fairly new plant, just introduced in 1995. When I think of camellias my mind instantly goes to heirloom plants from generations past. Like the one I got from my grandmother’s home. For me they also invoke visions of women from the Victorian period sauntering through the garden. I don’t know why, it just does…

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‘Crimson Candles’ can reach heights of 10 feet and get as wide as 6 feet. I’m going to let mine get some height on it, but I am going to try and keep it pruned so it stays kind of skinny. I want it to form a column of sorts. This camellia blooms from January to March and is extremely cold hardy as the species goes. Its blooms are much more forgiving of cold and frost than average camellia blooms. That’s good for me because the coldest month is usually February here.

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In other news, I got evaluated by the surgeon and I’ll be having my procedure on February 11th. It’s not a major ordeal; I just can’t do any lifting until I’m completely healed. I’ll be out of commission for 6 weeks after that, but at least I should be rip raring and ready to go by the time spring gets here. Yaaaaaaay! Since my hard work this weekend, the garden is all ready to go. I won’t have to be stressing about the arrival of spring and starting off the season behind. Hope this finds you all well and happy.

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