This new little camellia looks very unusual for anybody except probably a hardcore Camellia botanist. The flowers of ‘Tiny Gem’ are tiny, stamens have orangish tint, small dark leaves are unusually serrated, stem nodes and internodes do not look like anything in japonica-sasanqua-reticulata world. In addition, ‘Tiny Gem’s’ growth habit is chaotic and the plant requires full shade to grow well.
According to Tom Nuccio, the originator of ‘Tiny Gem’, this plant is likely to be a seedling of C. fraterna, a species from Theopsys section of Camellia genus. Now if we look into Ming Tien Lu’s book about camellia species, we find that Theopsys clade is very distant from Paracamellia clade where C. sasanqua belongs. In fact, Theopsys is much closer to tea plant – Camellia sinensis of Thea section of the genus.
Therefore it is unlikely I can ever cross any relative of C. sasanqua with ‘Tiny Gem’. So I don’t need this cultivar. But if you like strange compact plants for your shady patio, this plant might be just right for you. If you live in northern California and want to get this plant from me – see the details at ANNUAL GIVEAWAY OF CAMELLIAS
Hi Yuri,
I ended up with the Tiny Gem that you brought to the Nov. 17 meeting when Brad King, who won it in the raffle, left it with me perhaps in thanks for my having hosted him overnight. It’s the plant I wanted from your give-away because my garden is increasingly shady.
I re-potted it and just now it’s on my front patio in some winter sun. I can move it into complete shade later. Its leaves are a bronze color, perhaps with the frosts we’ve had (it is well hydrated). I do notice that the leaves are a deep green in your photos, so I hope my plant is ok. Thank you very much for your generous gifts to me and the camellia society.
What happened to the other photos in your thumb nail sheet?
Tina, the leaf color of this plant varies a lot. Other photos: I gave away all plants I planned to give away this year.