A description from Backyard Hybridizer – an article by Yuri Panchul in American Camellia Yearbook 2017:
“Camellia hybridization is not only about flowers. The value of some seedlings is in unusual leaves. A seedling YP0032, with the tentative name ‘Sunnyvale Dark Knight’, does not even look like a typical camellia. It has very short internodes, just like the internodes of ‘Sasanqua Compacta’ from Nuccio’s Nurseries, one of its likely parents. Another parent of this chance seedling may be a hybrid called Yume. In addition to the extreme shortness of internodes, the leaves of this plant are very dark and sometimes exhibit a “fishtail” feature. The whole plant looks very dense, like covered with armor, hence the name. The flower color is dark pink.”
‘Sunnyvale Dark Knight’ flowers late in a sasanqua season. The earliest flower was recorded on November 7, the latest on March 3. Most flowers are between late November and January, peaking in December.
A typical flower is 47-70 mm (1.9-2.8 inch) wide, averaging 56 mm (2.2 inch).
A typical leaf is 60-94 mm (2.4-3.7 inch) long and 24-36 mm (0.9-1.4 inch) wide, averaging 80 x 29 mm (3.2 x 1.1 inch).
Other photos from 2021-2019:
Other photos from 2017-2018:
Very nice. With the much denser growth of leaves, does it require additional water or fertilizers/minerals? When does it start blooming for you? Do the leaves in the densest locations tend to fall earlier than in other camellias? Did you prune it to give it this tree-like look? Reminds me of Crape Myrtles.
Luis: the requirements (water/fertilizer) are the same as other sasanquas, but it needs more shade (probably because it may have Yume hybrid as one of parents and Sasanqua Compacta as another one). Blooming time is late for sasanquas (December-January). I did minimal pruning – just removed branches that are too low. This is its natural shape.