Summer Camilla #ThursdayTreeLove

Our local Stewardia pesudocamellia, or Stewardia, or summer camellia, is in bloom at our local botanical garden in Binghamton, New York.

This is not a common tree where I live.

Its mottled bark is hard to see in this picture, where I tried to capture most of the tree.  It reminds me a little of the bark of crepe myrtle, a beautiful summer blooming shrub that thrives in the southeast United States.

The crepe myrtle is one of two bushes I wish I could grow in our zone 5b climate. It does grow downstate in the New York City area, although those bushes are much smaller than its southern relatives.

The other bush I wish I could grow is the camilla.   This tree above is actually a relative of the camilla so beloved of people in the South of the United States. Unlike this summer camilla tree, the camilla blooms in the winter and early spring.

Before its last winter

Several years ago, I tried to grow a camilla called April Rose, a variety that was claimed might be hardy enough for my yard.  I periodically reported on how it was doing, but not recently.  And here's why:

It was not to be, this particular impossible dream.  I bought her several years ago.  By this spring, April Rose only had one leaf left.  In the past week, we have reluctantly accepted that our impossible dream is dead.  Yet, maybe we can still dream impossible dreams.  Maybe, one day, we will try again.

In the meantime, the summer camilla tree above survives, several miles away.

Sometimes, you can step outside of your comfort zone.  But trees may not be able to do the same.

Join Parul and other tree lovers each second and fourth Thursday of the month for #ThursdayTreeLove.