Polyspora axillaris var. tonkinensis with its first flowers out at about 12-15ft tall.
Camellia ‘Cinnamon Candy’ is really very good! About three or four years from planting.
2018 – CHW
First flowers on Magnolia ‘Ethel Hillier’ found by Jaimie in Forty Acres wood. An exposed position and blown open I think.
The newly planted Camellia ‘Cinnamon Cindy’ is just out by the Podocarpus salignus clump. No scent yet and clearly rather tender. Bought from a French nursery and well worth its place and propagating. I need to look up its parentage but the leaves suggest a Camellia sasanqua cross. The UK is missing out on all the new camellias hybridisation work around the world deriving from the newly discovered Chinese camellia species due to import restrictions and the dreaded Nagoya Protocol. How do the French manage to cheat? In a decade or three the UK will be miles behind in the world of camellia breeding if it is not already. The International Camellia Society yearbook arrives today and scarcely a mention of the UK when it comes to the registration of new varieties of camellia worldwide. All rather sad but at least the x williamsii camellias stand the test of time because of their early flowering and floriferousness. The yearbook refers to 32 species of camellia from Vietnam one of which is aquatic in habit! The International Camellia Society has 1,800 worldwide members. The RHS Rhododendron, Camellia & Magnolia society about 900. China now dominates membership in the camellia world after the US as I suppose it should!
Despite a little frost on Saturday morning (the first for the winter) Magnolia ‘Todds Forty-Niner’ is virtually untouched. It has not moved on much in a fortnight and there is some slug and hail damage. However the plant is at least sensible enough not to open fully in mid January. The plant has a good shape and appears to be slow growing as well as floriferous.
2001 – FJW
Rain and gales returned after short cool snap.1972 – FJW
First snowdrops seen after boys return. Geo Blandford out well – as is J.C.W. A flower on Keysii – flowers Bo- Peep. 2 Cornish Snow on drive. Returning Loder cup.1964 – FJW
Charles had nice harvest of snowdrops. George Blandford 1/3rd out.
1943 – CW
Half a dozen flowers on Cam reticulata Mary Williams fully out. First red cup in Tin Garden.
1923 – JCW
Hamamelis going over, first Caerhays daff open in the Orchard, many crimson scarlet hybrids show colour, R irroratum is opening. R scabrifolium, lutescens, baileyi, two forms of dahuricum – moupinense, several Caucasicums, a bit of Oreodoxa, some Rubiginosum and 3 cherries.
(Hand Written note attached to page)
I put a little mineral phosphate on the following shrubs going W to E through the new planting in the order given.
Viburnum fragrans, Magnolia salicifolia, Quercus spicata, Quercus glabra, Farrers Oak, Nothofagus dombeyi, Betula albo sinensis of Wilson, one cherry not the true Pilosiuscula.
1922 – JCW
In advance of 1918. No Aconite as yet, snowdrops good, Rhodo’s much as in 1914.
1918 – JCW
Very much behind the above, a few snowdrops and a very few nobleanum starting, the Hamamelis is at its best.
1914 – JCW
A few snowdrops and Aconite, some good rhodo’s in flower in all three woods, mostly based in the blood red arboreum line of stuff, hybrids or pure, but flowers of R micranthum, keysii, lutescens, yunnanense, chrysanthum and barbatum show, whilst R mucronulatum remains very good.
1903 – JCW
Many days behind 98, the coums are very good, no crocus but imperati, picked six minimus.
1898 – JCW
Odd flowers of Clematis indivisa have been out for a week. Weardale above ground, hundreds of crocus open, snowdrops at about their best, very fine and mild.
1897 – JCW
Snow and very hard frost last night, but no ice on the big pond, strong NE wind.