If you are looking to add a touch of dramatic, late-winter elegance to your garden, look no further than the ‘Ruby Davidson’ Camellia. For camellia enthusiasts and casual gardeners alike, this particular variety stands out as a true masterpiece of form and color.
The ‘Ruby Davidson’ is a registered cultivar of Camellia sasanqua, revered for its formal, highly structured blooms. While some camellias sport a loose, peony-like form, the 'Ruby Davidson' is celebrated for its precise, symmetrical beauty:
- The Bloom: It produces medium-to-large, formal double flowers. The petals are beautifully layered, curving inward slightly to create a mesmerizing geometric pattern.
- The Color: True to its name, the blossoms boast a rich, deep ruby-red to rose-pink hue that contrasts vividly against the winter landscape.
- The Foliage: Even when not in bloom, the shrub is a stunner. It features glossy, dark-green, leathery leaves that remain vibrant all year long.
Reading this, you might wonder: Is this a gardening blog or a genealogy blog? Well, it's a bit of both. This post is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series, a collection of weekly prompts hosted by Amy Johnson Crow to encourage us to share stories from our family trees. The prompt for the week of June 1 is "Possibilities," and today we are exploring the incredible possibilities—and lasting results—of camellia breeding. This post has been a long time in the making, having first started drafting it all the way back in 2019. Let me tell you more about this unique camellia and the fascinating story of its hybridizer.
The Ruby Davidson Camellia is a Camellia sasanqua introduction by Ralph Davidson (1907-2005) named after his wife, Ruby Howard Davidson (1911-1993).
Ralph's interest in Camellias started while he served as a juror in the courtroom of Circuit Judge Whit Windham, a well-known Birmingham camellia enthusiast (“Labor of Love,” The Birmingham News, October 18, 2003). After Ralph retired from Liberty National in 1972, he put his focus on his growing Camellia collection, which grew to be over 300 plants.
In 1996 Ralph found a chance seedling in his garden. He nurtured the seedling and saw the first flower off of the plant in 1999. To Ralph, the flower was remarkable enough that he decided to register the seedling with the American Camellia Society in 2003. As part of the registration, Ralph described the flower as being a semidouble flower that has white petals with blush on the outer edges, deep yellow anthers and light yellow filaments. The long lasting flowers measure 3 x 1 1/2 inches.
Not only did Ralph think that this was a remarkable Camellia, so did the American Camellia Society. In 2004, the Ruby Davidson Camellia won the Ralph Peer Sasanqua award in 2004 as the nation’s best new camellia sasanqua!
On Saturday, October 18, 2003 The Birmingham News published a wonderful article on Ralph, his passion of camellias, and the 'Ruby Davidson' Camellia.
Design Scanned images of newspaper by Edward OlsenIn 2017, it was feared that only one plant remained. In order to perpetuate this variety, one of Ralph's children contacted me to help propagate it. In order to ensure that the cuttings were successful, I contacted a local camellia enthusiast and a propagator at a nursery in Chesapeake, Virginia. The propagator was very interested in the Camellia and agreed to produce rooted cuttings of the plant for the family in exchange for extra cuttings that could be used as stock plants for the nursery to introduce the Camellia into the trade. In the summer of 2018 cuttings were taken from the family's plant and sent to Chesapeake, VA and rooted. These plants were then distributed to many of Ralph's family.
In addition to the plant that the cuttings were taken from, a plant had also been planted at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens' Hess Camellia Garden. At the writing of this post it is believed that this plant no longer exists due to a tornado that did damage in the garden. The plant was not able to be located in the garden by a family member in the summer of 2016. A third original plant was thought to be located at the University of North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, NC. This plant has not been confirmed at this time.
I've now been able to confirm at least 2 more plants, also most likely given by Ralph. One in a private garden in Birmingham and Aldridge Gardens in Birmingham, AL.
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