Camellia x reticulata Larry Piet

The Camellia reticulata 'Larry Piet' captivates with its very large flowers that appear as early as February, attracting all eyes in the garden. This bush, which can reach 3 m in height, forms a beautiful clump of dark vegetation, against which the bright flowering stands out well. Measuring up to 15 cm in diameter, the flowers resembling roses or peonies are a vivid pink almost red. The bush then provides a magnificent spectacle at the end of winter and heralds spring in the most beautiful way. It should be planted sheltered from too strong sunlight, in fresh acidic soil to give the best of itself.

The Camellia is the most important genus in the small family of Theaceae, the best-known member of which is Camellia sinensis, used to produce tea by harvesting its young leaves. This restricted plant family hosts a few other little-known ornamental plants, but deserving of wider diffusion, such as Franklinia alatamaha or Stewartia. According to botanical classifications, Camellia comprises from a hundred to 250 natural species, originating from Asia. The number of horticultural varieties amounts to around 40,000, evidence of breeders' enthusiasm for this plant, which is truly revered in Japan.
While Camellia japonica is the flagship species of the genus and the most cultivated, Camellia reticulata is particularly interesting for its flowers, the largest in the genus. The botanical type species grows in the mountainous regions of southwest China (Yunnan province), where it can develop into true small trees reaching 10 m in height. Curiously, the wild form was only introduced to France in 1924, while cultivated varieties had been known for a century.
'Larry Piet' is a variety obtained in the United States by Meyer Piet, whose original seedling bloomed after 13 years in 1989. The breeder crossed a C. reticulata 'Pharaoh', a semi-double variety with pink-red petals playing against yellow stamens, and a C. reticulata 'Harold L. Paige', with double flowers of a bright red. The result of the cross is a perfect intermediate between the two parents. 'Larry Piet' forms a bush approximately 1.80 m high by 1.20 m wide after 10 years of cultivation, and will reach 3 m in height at maturity. It has a fairly upright habit, vigorous growth, and bears leaves 12 cm long and 5 cm wide. Their colour is a relatively dark green and, as is often the case with Camellias, their surface is glossy, slightly shiny. Evergreen, they serve as a backdrop to the flowering and are rather ornamental the rest of the year. From February, large cup-shaped flowers, 15 cm wide and 6.5 cm deep, bloom, reminiscent of roses or peonies. Semi-double to double, their numerous undulating petals almost entirely conceal the yellow stamens in the centre of the corolla. The flower colour is intermediate between the two parents, that is, a very deep pink approaching red. This vibrant colour is further enhanced by the dark background of the vegetation, and as the flowering season extends over several weeks, it accompanies the arrival of spring, bringing joy to the garden.

Camellia 'Larry Piet' is unmatched in brightening up the garden at the end of winter, even under the sometimes still grey sky. Its unusually large flowers create a visual focal point in the garden that enlivens any border. Forming a compact bush as wide as it is tall, the Daphne odora 'Marianni' with its superb green leaves broadly margined in yellow, will accompany your Camellia's flowering with its deliciously scented pink inflorescences that will perfume your border. In the background, plant a Rhododendron boddaertianum, whose clusters of white-pink flowers will take over from the two previous shrubs and delight your April. Accompany it with a Magnolia 'Megalonia' with giant deep pink flowers, the largest of which will reach 30 cm in diameter, and you will have created a scene of epic proportions to celebrate the end of winter and the start of the beautiful season!