President's Message 2025

Dear friends, I hope all of you are well. Let me inform you about the ICS news.

• ICS Officers:
  • Dr. Carmen Salinero Corral is the new Membership Registrar. Carmen has a long experience: President of the Spanish Camellia Society since 2003, Director for Spain of the International Camellia Society since 2006, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Spanish Society of Camellia, co-author of many articles in scientific journals and books. Carmen interacts with the regional Membership Representatives to receive member data and maintain the ICS global database of ICS members with their postal address and membership status. Also, she provides required data to the Treasurer and the Journal Editor. The privacy of membership data is protected by GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which is the most restrictive data privacy rule. Congratulations to Carmen and grateful thanks to Li Jiyuan, our former Registrar.
  • My beloved friend Florence Crowder passed away on December 24th, 2024. The ICS members of the Americas region elected Forrest Latta as the new Vice President. Congratulations to Forrest.
  • Ms. Anke Koschitz is the new Vice President Europe. Congratulations to Anke, who succeeds Dr. Pilar Vela Gonzalez. Congratulations to Anke and grateful thanks to Pilar for her support during the past six years
  • I invite all of you to read the list of ICS officers on https://internationalcamellia.org/en-us/our-organisation. 
• International Camellia Gardens of Excellence (GOE): after the evaluation visits done in 2024, I am pleased to announce new and renewed GOES, namely Il Bosco di Camelie (Italy), Antony Woodland Garden (UK), Arboretum Prov. Domein Het Leen (Belgium), Burden Botanic Garden (USA), Exbury Gardens (UK), Foshan Botanical Garden (China), Marwood Hill Gardens (UK), Mount Edgcumbe Country Parc (UK), Nanning Golden Camellia Parc (China), Parque da Pena (Portugal), Pazo de Rubianes (Spain), Parque Terra Nostra (Portugal). You can find their description on the ICS website https://internationalcamellia.org/en-us/
• Nuccio’s: Nuccio’s Nursery survived the devastating Los Angeles fire. Nuccio’s, one of the greatest camellia hybridizers, created many world famous cultivars, such as Nuccio’s Gem (C.japonica),  Yuletide (C.vernalis), Francie L. (C.reticulata hybrid), etc.  
• Golden Camellias: Yellow Camellias, about 50 wild species, are seriously endangered; Chinese GOEs (Foshan, Nanning, Jinhua) preserve a set of species, but many endemic species are exposed to predation and extinction in Vietnam. I believe that ICS should promote the creation of a GOE for golden camellias in Vietnam. 

My best wishes for a bright 2025.   
Professor Gianmario Motta, ICS President