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| Camellia japonica 'Morris Mercury' |
This is a new arrival here, from Camellia Forest earlier this year. It has the potential to be an important part of the garden in the long run. For one thing, it will probably prove to be cold hardy here. It was named at the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia: if it can take the winters there, it should have no trouble here. For another, it's got red flowers. Red-flowered camellias blooming in the snow are one of my favorite camellia effects. For another, it's a fall-blooming cultivar of Korean stock Camellia japonica. There are red-flowered Camellia sasanqua - 'Yuletide' is the one usually seen locally; 'Yuletide' has good flower color, but it seems to lack hardiness. I've never seen a big one locally. 'Morris Mercury' has bright red flowers which are larger than those of 'Yuletide', and if it proves to be hardier than 'Yuletide' it should eventually make a large shrub. A large, hardy, evergreen shrub with red flowers in late November and December: what's not to like?
I hope if I'm writing about this one five years from now all of my expectations have been fulfilled!
The flower in the image was taken today - I expect later blooms to have better form; it's from a plant still in the pot in which it was shipped.
1 comment:
Thank you for your fine picture and thoughts about "Morris Mercury". I was not aware of it before. But I, too, love the thought of large, deep red camellia blossoms in the fall and, with luck, covered with some light snow. I have looked carefully at "Yuletide" and finally decided that it wasn't all that I hoped for. "Morris Mercury" looks like a much better bet. Such a saturated red. And with Pennsylvania hardiness to boot. Fantastic!
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