President's Monthly Message

September 2026 

August in Europe has been exceptionally warm and dry. Large forest fires broke out in Greece, Spain, France, and Italy. While camellias tolerate warm temperatures very well, they need moisture and rain. Sadly, many gardens lost plants. In these situations, drip irrigation can save plants outdoors, if water is available. We hope that September can be moderately wet and moderately warm, to encourage sasanqua to bloom and other cultivars to mature flower buds.

New hybrids of C. azalea in Italy

Camellia azalea is famous amongst ICS members. The wild species, first described in 1986 by CF Wei, has the exceptional feature of blooming from October to December in its native Guandong Province. The wild species is very tender and can survive outdoors only in very mild regions with abundant rainfall, like Oshima Island (Japan) and similar mild locations.

To overcome that low hardiness, the species has been crossed with other camellia cultivars, generating countless hybrids, which can bloom when other camellias do not.  These hybrids are illustrated in the two books “Illustrations of the new camellia hybrids” (ISBN 9787573904843) authored by Professor Gao Jiyin and others. Professor Anna Lenzi, from University of Florence, has recently developed eight new C. azalea hybrids, including ‘Bella di Pescia’ (coral read single flower) and ‘Ada Madrina’ (rose-read semi-double), which, in Tuscany, start blooming in August-September, before the earliest sasanquas, and can continue till February.

These hybrids, which are hardy in milder temperate areas, like Lake Maggiore in Italy and the North part of the West Coast in the US, can complement other camellia cultivars and cover (almost) nine months, from August to April.        

Update ICS Congress 2027

From Forrest Latta, Vice-President Americas

Registration is going well for the upcoming ICS Congress on January 26-30, 2027, hosted by the American Camellia Society. Full details and registration info are at www.ICSCongress2027.com. Registration will remain open until November 1.

This will mark the ICS’s 65th Anniversary since its founding in 1962 and we plan to celebrate. Our host city, Macon, Georgia, is famous for its music recording artists and studios. We will experience a private performance by Chuck Leavell of the Rolling Stones and formerly Allman Brothers Band who resides nearby on a large timber farm.

This Congress will overlap with the American Camellia Society annual meeting, making it a joint session of the two large camellia organizations. We will visit the ACS’ campus and gardens for the first time since 1978. ACS is planning a major flower exhibition in addition to tours and demonstrations throughout the ACS’ museum, library, theater, meeting space, and greenhouses. All week long we will have educational programs, including an entire morning on historic preservation, and an important panel on the future of nomenclature with the world’s experts,

Dr. Zhonglang Wang and Dr. Brad King. In addition, Jim Nuccio will be interviewed on stage about the great Nuccio Nursery, which recently closed after three generations.

A partial list of speakers and topics is on the website www.ICSCongress2027.com. A final program schedule will be published after September 1.

Our pre-Congress will include a special guest, George Sawada, along with the papers of his grandfather, K. Sawada. We will also visit the large nursery where Gao Jiyin’s four-season hybrids are being commercially mass-grown for the American market. For the Post-Congress Tour, we are pleased to add another major camellia garden - Magnolia Plantation & Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. Magnolia is the source of many historic cultivars. Our day trip will include a private tour with lunch at Magnolia on the final day, before our farewell dinner.

Travel note: We are making special arrangements for a hotel shuttle upon your flight into Atlanta for the ICS Congress in Macon. Once you register, we will coordinate with your scheduled arrival and departure. Please advise us if we can provide you with a formal letter of invitation or any other VISA assistance for travel purposes. 

Membership and Society News

We warmly welcome Annette Sembritzki and Gabriele Müller-Lauer as the new Membership Representatives for Germany, succeeding Karin Jacobs-Gebauer, who has served the ICS and its members with great dedication over many years.

The Rediscovery of C. japonica 'Queen Victoria' by Camellia Ark Australia

We are glad to forward this communication from Stephen Utick, President of the Committee for Historic Camellia Conservation:
We are about to commence an important part of our project - the shipment of rooted cuttings of Camellia japonica 'Queen Victoria'.

Originated in the UK by Mr Priestly of Bromley Kent to honour the monarch, it was released in the
Van Houtte catalogue of 1839, and the American Flower Garden Directory in 1852.  It is recorded in the Sydney Botanic Gardens listing of 1857.


However, it seems to have been lost for over 150 years. But the discovery at Comerang Farm in Bodalla New South Wales changed all that. We are happy to confirm that the propagated plants flowered true to form. 


We know that ‘Queen Victoria’ was imported by Shepherds Nursery into NSW before 1851 as it appears in the catalogue of 1851. Probably, Sydney Botanic Gardens acquired it from Shepherds as it had ‘Queen Victoria’ listed in its collection of 1857 - although it is also possible that Shepherds acquired it from the Botanic Gardens. 



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