Plants Nouveau Introduces A Camellia To Honor Susy Dirr

By Greenhouse Grower staff|July 10, 2012

Plant Nouveau will debut a new camellia variety called ‘Susy Dirr’ in honor of Bonnie and Dr. Michael Dirr’s daughter Susy at the 2012 OFA Short Course. Dr. Dirr is an endowed professor at the University of Georgia and the author of Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, a text book used in many horticulture classes, so the new camellia is a fitting tribute to his daughter.

Susy was born with cystic fibrosis, which makes the act of breathing extremely difficult. Undaunted by her disease, she was valedictorian of her high school class and an honor student at the University of Georgia, graduating with a degree in advertising a year ahead of her class. After a long battle with the disease, Susy died in 2008.

Bobby Green, the breeder of this camellia will donate $0.45 from each plant to the Sweet Melissa Fund, which helps families with cystic fibrosis.

This fall-blooming camellia grows well in containers, the nursery and the garden. It is full and bushy with a dense habit, full of formal double carmine-pink flowers. Growing 8 to 12 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide, C. hiemalis loves full sun to partial shade and mist, well-drained soil. This cultivar is hardier than most of its cousins, and the shrubs offer a plethora of flowers in September and October.

Visit http://sweetmelissafund.org for more information.