SOUTHERN FLORIST AND NURSERYMAN 
with camellias attribute it to mis- 
handling, when actually it is prob- 
ably a result of lack of knowledge. 
In the first place, plants that have 
had the right start in life are the 
ones that will grow properly. Those 
grown from the start in containers 
will not suffer root damage caused 
by digging, as in the case of field or 
bed-grown plants. It is safe to buy 
plants grown in containers from the 
start. The plants should be two or 
more years old and, if of improved 
strains of good varieties, they will 
produce some flowers the following 
season. 
Nurserymen and florists all over 
the country have gverlooked the 
chance to make good profits by not 
having camellias available in con- 
tainers. If placed outdoors in a 
protected place in partial shade 
most of the year, and then brought 
indoors to a well ventilated, light, 
cool porch, the plants will have bet- 
ter growing conditions than a perm- 
anent ground location will afford. 
Let’s consider another phase of 
potted camellia sales. Many thou- 
sands of azalea plants are sold dur- 
ing their season by florists. And 
they are sold in sections where they 
never could be grown outdoors and 
are difficult to grow at all indoors. 
They are sold as “living bouquets,” 
to be kept for a short time and then 
thrown away after blooming. 
Doesn’t it seem logical that the 
camellia, if properly brought to the 
public’s attention, could be sold 
even to people who would not be 
expecting any more from it than 
they would from the azalea plant? 
It seems apparent that we are do- 
ing a poor job of merchandising as 
compared to other industries. 
By following a few simple in- 
structions, which are much _ less 
complicated than those usually giv- 
en for the most common plants, the 
nurseryman can popularize the cam- 
ellia to an extent never dreamed of. 
Nurserymen located in the East 
know that the common geranium is 
pampered and fussed over by thou- 
sands of people living in flats and 
apartments—let’s get out and make 
something of our own business. 
There was a time when I was in 
the retail camellia business, and it 
was very profitable, too. I hadn’t 
mastered the handling of camellias, 
and we issued such detailed instruc- 
tions and gave such involved an- 
swers to questions put to us by our 
patrons that we turned many a 
“sure” buyer into a_ think-it-over 
prospect. All he could see was that 
the camellia would be more of a 
worry than a pleasure. 
If I were planning to do any re- 
tail selling today, I would start off 
right by telling customers how 
simple it is to grow camellias. They 
would merely be told to water, light, 
feed and locate the plants properly. 
In short, I’d tell them the simple, 
truth, that camellias require little if 
any special attention that is not giv- 
en to other plants. 
There are, of course, problems 
that arise with camellias as with 
any growing thing. Watering, for 
example. We drench tens of thou- 
sands of plants every day, two 
thousand gallons of water per acre 
all overhead. We have yet to see 
that “burning glass” that the “ex- 
perts” talk about, but we do know 
that underwatered plants suffer and 
the foliage burns. 
With regard to the finished prod- 
uct, it must be remembered that 
camellias grown outdoors in con- 
tainers, even in mild climates, must 
be put under glass during the winter 
if perfection of blooms for corsage 
work is desired. Plants set outdoors 
or permanently grown outdoors pro- 
duce lots of flowers, but few of them 
will be perfect enough to meet the 
rigid requirements of commercial 
use. Blooms whipped by wind and 
rain become damaged and spotted. 
As a rule, camellia blooms are 
taken without any stem, and the 
leaves are taken separately for the 
tailoring of the corsage or other 
uses. The camellia used in corsage 
work is usually stemmed with wire 
and wrapped with tape. Gardenia 
collars use stapled leaves. In this 
connection, let me point out that 
even if a camellia plant. never 
bloomed at all, it would still be pro- 
fitable to have around for it sup- 
plies the finest of foliage for floral 
work. The foliage stays put and is 
leather-tough. Grown cool with 
plenty of fresh air, the camellia will 
ship well and last as long as an or- 
chid if properly placed in storage 
boxes. 
In closing, I want to stress the im- 
portance of being sure to get the 
right kind of plant. There is a lot 
of difference between the plant 
grown under ordinary methods and 
that grown by a progressive, mod- 
ern grower. Many failures with 
camellias are caused by so-called 
“die back,’ which is supposedly a 
natural disease affecting camellias. 
It’s a disease produced by inefficient 
methods of handling. 
Following a practice established 
by custom, that of growing the 
plants first in beds or in the open 
June 29, 1951 
field, and then digging at the time 
of sale, is dangerous. It is practical- 
ly impossible to economically dig 
the plants without root cutting or 
other injury and exposure to the 
elements. Camellias do not tolerate 
root disturbance of this nature. 
Plants dug from a field must be 
nursed along for a couple of years 
before they get back on their feet. 
This permanently weakened plant 
never has a chance to live to the 
ripe old age it deserves. It has 
suffered a major operation, and the 
old wounds caused by the digging 
have taken their toll. Some of us 
run better “plant hospitals” than 
others, and we are better nurses to 
the plants. But how much better 
things would be if we had the right 
kind of plants in the first place. 
Such plants—grown from the start 
in containers, produced from the 
finest of parent stock, plants that 
require nothing more than the sim- 
ple care as outlined — can change 
your entire conception of what a 
camellia plant can and should be, 
and what a pleasure it can be not 
only to you but to your customers 
as well. 
Assemble it yourself! 
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Anyone can put them together easily. 
BACKMAN & COMPANY 
9003 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif., CR. 5-2966 
