The Berckman Nursery would become the site of Augusta National Golf Course and the Masters Golf Tournament. Camellias were commonly grafted to rootstock of a related fall blooming, smaller leafed species Camellia sasangua . Cold weather has killed the upper grafted portion of some camellias and allowed the rootstock to become the predominant plant. In addition, older camellias have reproduced by seed. Some of these seed have germinated and matured into large plants over the years that may bear no resemblance to the original named parent cultivar.
Damaged trees exhibit a clumping of the leaves around the limbs and the main trunk.
Some of this damage will heal with time while many other trees will slowly succumb to insect or disease stress. The azalea is classified in the genus Rhododendron which contains over 900 related species that freely hybridize. Rhododendron exist all over the world but most experts feel that the most hardy and colorful forms exist in Japan, China, and eastern North America. The number of azalea cultivars is in the thousands. The common Camellia is one of our toughest and most dependable winter blooming garden plants.