President's Monthly Message

August 2026 

Europe has been experiencing in July an exceptional drought with temperatures over 40 C°.  Up to now, we have not received any news of massive camellia death.  Camellia japonica and sasanqua withstand extremely warm temperatures and drought much better than rhododendrons.   

New Applications for International Gardens of Excellence

Magnolia Plantation Gardens, located in South Carolina, USA, submitted its application. These gardens, privately owned, were established under the vision of Reverend John Grimké Drayton, who inherited the property in 1831 at the age of twenty-one. Currently, Magnolia Gardens are annually visited by approximately 200,000 visitors. The cultivated garden encompasses around 60 acres (= 24 hectares) and grows more than 6.500 camellias, including around 800 named camellia cultivars, hybrids and species. As per our rules, the application shall be approved by the ICS directors.

Initiatives for preserving and valorizing camellia species

Valorizing wild camellia species reflects the ICS purpose of preserving camellias. Let us inform you about two ongoing initiatives.

A request concerning preservation came from Tengchong, a city in Yunnan, close to Myanmar border. Tengchong, located at 1,667 m, is surrounded by forests of wild C. reticulata, whose hybrids and cultivars are very popular in the US for their spectacular flowers. The city has a park, overseen by the Kunming Institute of Botany, where both wild species and natural varieties grow, thus preserving the species biodiversity.  For these reasons, Tengchong could be defined as the “Hometown of C. reticulata”.  The President, the Vice President Prof. Wang and the Secretary Anke Koschitz will visit Tengchong next September, report their feedback and define the related project.    

C. Reticulata 'Damaneo'

Another initiative concerns Vietnam. The 3-year project “Establishment of a garden for the conservation of the threatened camellia species of Vietnam” has started. The project, funded by the Otomo-Haydon Camellia Research Fund with 5,000 USD per year, is led by Anthony Curry and is staffed by Da Lat University. Da Lat, located at 1,500 m. in South Vietnam enjoys an absolutely exceptional climate, with a January minimum of 11.7 C° and a summer high of only 23 C°, allowing both tender and hardy camellias. 

First International Sasanqua Symposium, Shanghai, December 3-6, 2026

Let us remember the Sasanqua Symposium. Registration is now open for the First International Sasanqua Symposium. Detailed information and registration details are available on https://internationalcamellia.org/first-international-symposium-on-sasanquas.

Summer Camellia Events 

With the hybrids of Camellia azalea and the Camellia azalea itself, gardens and nurseries in milder regions can organize camellia events also in full summer. Let me mention “Il Giardino Incantato” (the enchanted garden) located in Massa, Tuscany, close to the sea, which organized a successful camellia party on July 18th, and, also, the guided visits in Villa Anelli, a GOE located on Lake Maggiore.    



Your thoughts and feedback are most welcome. Please feel free to contact us.

Prof. Gianmario Motta gianmario.motta@unipv.it

President, International Camellia Society

Anke Koschitz

Secretary, International Camellia Society