Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
—Aristotle
Camellias are a winter blooming shrub that grow well in a wide swath of the south. Their flowers have a wide variety of shapes sizes and colors, due to the fact that when they express a seed, the offspring can look totally different than the parent. Each plant grown from seed is genetically unique. Therefore, popular varieties, just like roses and oranges, are propagated by cuttings or grafts .
Aware of this 20 years ago, I started collecting the odd seeds that appear here and there in my camellia grove and started to grow them. Camellias grown from seed can take 10 years or more to bloom. Most seedlings have simple ordinary flowers, but occasionally one will emerge that is unlike any other in the world. Each year I wait for the winter blooming season to see what new unique flowers may emerge from those once tiny seedlings.
Growing camellias from seed is a slow, long-term project. By investing in the long view, they have made my world a more interesting, exciting, and beautiful place. After 20 years, a few of the dozens and dozens of plants I've nurtured have sprouted extraordinary flowers. They exist only in my backyard.
I'm too old now to start new plants with hopes I will see their beauty. If I survive long enough, I will propagate these few unique cultivars by cuttings and grafts and give them to family and friends as a special remembrance of me and the power of the long view.
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Really nice series. Thank you for sharing it!