One Big Beautiful Camellia Bloom! And they are edible!
My Camellias have been trying to bloom for over 2 months now, but the weather has been too warm to allow the blooms to open. The 2 inches of snow that lasted about 6 hours, was enough to get one bloom to open. So I have five, 12 foot high trees, loaded with buds and one big beautiful bloom!
If we could get some below freezing temps, all five trees are covered in buds. I don't think I am exaggerating to say there are over 1000 buds I can see from the deck. That does not include what is below where I cannot see without going down there. I think it is going to be a spectacular show this year, when the weather finally co-operates, but for now, I am enjoying this one big beauty.
Normally, they are not variegated colors like this. I think the snow laid on the bud just long enough to change the color of the petals. But I think the white wisps on the petals is very pretty.
Camellias are edible
Camellia leaves and buds are often used to make tea. There are over 250 known species of the genius Camellia and over 1000 different cultivars of Camellia sinensis alone. It is used more often than others for tea because of the amount of caffeine it contains, most of the others do not.
If you are planning on using your Camellia mainly for tea, the flower buds are usually pinched off because the blooms are not used in making tea. This allows more of the plants energy to go into the leaves to make a stronger tea. The blooms are edible but more people go for the tea that the flowers as they are rather short lived.
Preparing leaves for tea
There is a very good tutorial that teaches you to make Green, Black or Oolong tea from Camellia sinensis, available at the spruce.com. It is very easy to do and give you yet another easy to grow plant you can add to your yard to help in survival when the zombie invasion starts.
The way I see it, you can eat the flowers or chew on the leaves if you are running from the zombies, or when enough of them die off to give you a little peace occasionally, make tea and bring a little civilization back to whatever cave of shack you are living in.
Sources:
Image: I took it
Information: My brain
I didn't know you can eat the flower- and am I reading this right: they bloom when it's cold out? Can't wait to get some camellia sinensis on our land.
Yes, it has to go below freezing for the blooms to open. We have only bee below freezing one time so far and that we the night it snowed. By 1 pm the next day it was gone, lol. I am sitting here with the doors open right now because it is so warm outside. The White flowered variety are the most common ones for tea making, but any of them will work. You can add in a little of this or that herb or spice to make it something uniquely you.
Wow thanks! ;) whereabouts r you located?
Wow, had not idea we can eat the flowers or make tea with them. Wish I would have known when I lived where I had a giant camellia plant. She bloomed beautifully every year. :( I missed out.