DATE:     9/23/99
WRITER:   Bob Polomski, (864)-656-2604
EDITOR:   Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Making Camellias Bloom Early

     CLEMSON -- Did you ever wonder why so many of the camellias
in the camellia collection at the S.C. Botanical Garden bloom
early? The early-blooming sasanquas (Camellia sasanqua) bloom
naturally in the fall, but usually the Japanese camellias
(Camellia japonica) bloom throughout the winter and early spring.
Hence, their nickname, "Winter Rose."
      The Garden's camellia collection encompasses over 500
camellias and 75 cultivars.
     If, like the volunteers in The Garden, you use a simple
technique called "gibbing," Japanese camellias can be coerced
into blooming earlier, beginning in October.
     Gibbing involves the application of the natural plant
hormone gibberellic acid to camellia flowers. This growth
regulator "awakens" the flower buds, releasing them from their
state of dormancy. As a result, these treated flower buds swell
and open up earlier than normal.
     For more than 25 years, camellia enthusiasts have gibbed
buds to hasten flowering. Gibbing works especially well on
cultivars that flower during the winter months and are vulnerable
to damage from freezing temperatures. Also, gibbing produces 
larger flowers that tend to remain on the plant for a longer
time.
     Gibbing also helps battle camellia flower blight, a disease
that kills camellia flowers in the spring. Gibbed camellias bloom
earlier, when the fungus is still dormant.
     There are a few drawbacks to gibbing buds. Not all varieties
respond that well. 
     AVictory White@ and AGigantea@ are two cultivars that don't
respond to gibbing. However, several cultivars, like "Florence
Stratton," respond well. This cultivar has a white, formal double
flower, which normally appears in late March.
     Giberellic acid can be purchased from the American Camellia
Society (100 Massee Lane, Fort Valley, GA, 31030, or (912)-967-2358)
for $10.00 plus $1.50 postage and handling per gram. A one
gram package will treat 1,000 flowers.  
     To gib your camellia flowers, look for plump, round flower
buds at the tips of the branches. Right next to the flower bud
should be a smaller, pointed vegetative or growth bud. This
produces leaves and stems.
     Twist out the growth bud, leaving its base or "cup" intact.
Apply one drop of gibberellic acid to the cup. Then move on to
the next flower bud.
     You can expect blooms to open three to 12 weeks following
the treatment. Obviously, early flowering camellia cultivars will 
respond faster than the later blooming ones. If you start gibbing
in September and treat a few buds on each camellia at weekly
intervals, flowers will be produced throughout the season.
     One hint: treat no more than 1/4 of the buds on young
camellia plants. On older plants, gibb as many you like. -- Bob
Polomski, Extension consumer horticulturist.
                    ***********************
     If you have questions or comments on gardening-related
issues, write to PSA News & Publications, Box 340129, A-101 Poole
Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. 29634-0129. 
     You might also want to look for other "Buds and Blooms"
columns under 1999 News Releases at: www.clemson.edu/agcomm . 
Also check out CU Consumer Horticulture:
(http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/hort/Home Hort.htm) and the
S.C Master Gardener Program: 
(http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/hort/SCMG/MGprog.htm)
                               END