The amazing story of Wentworth Woodhouse Camellias began around 250 years ago when 19 Camellias embarked on a long perilous journey to arrive safely in a foreign country on the other side of the world, a country known as England.
Following their arrival, it would take 200 years for fate to unite them with Lumatek in a small yet pivotal part of the incredible adventure and survival of these impressive senior ladies.
What else can you read in this article?
- The world was vastly different 250 years ago
- Wentworth Woodhouse: The end of a golden Era
- The rediscovery of a National Treasure
- Lumatek and Wentworth Woodhouse work together
- Led grow light fixtures to the Camellia plants rescue!
- The results of the project for the salvation of the Camellias
- FAQs – Quick questions and answers about Wentworth Woodhouse and Camellias
The world was vastly different 250 years ago
While these 19 sisters were finding themselves in what would be their definitive home, a 17 year old unknown Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started a European tour to showcase its talents for the 1st time.
Tea was being dumped into the Boston Harbor in what would later be a famous and unforgettable “party”.
The Spinning Jenny and the steam engine, were being developed and the beginnings of a little thing called the “Industrial Revolution” were about to start, and names like Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith were the rock stars of this period making the Enlightenment Era trend like no other.
Also, around this time Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, known as the father of modern taxonomy, published his seminal work “Species Plantarum” in 1753. This laid the foundation for the modern system of naming and classifying plants. Among all those pages, camellias were featured as well, in particular some of the rarest and coveted Camellias Japonica Linnaeus.
The Camellia House was built in 1812 specifically to show them off and there they settled, in a beautiful teahouse of an opulent manor. There to impress the privileged guests with their foreign appeal, exotic names and aromas. Avid in creating awe-like moments each time the flowering spectacle occurred. What a treasured moment it must have been.
Wentworth Woodhouse: The end of a golden Era
But time waits for no man and no plant and they were far from imagining what the future would hold for them. The Greenhouse fell into decline along with the rest of Wentworth Woodhouse and from the late 1900s the camellias plants were forgotten.
As if time itself built an invisible wall that would hide them through a full scale industrial revolution, deep cultural and social economic changes, abandonment, a depression era snagged between 2 world wars followed by a long cold one that would end with another wall tumbling down.
Oblivious to all this, for the next 200 years, these 19 Camellias sisters fell into a dark place of human oblivion, as if they never existed at all, there lying in a forgotten ruin as a shadow of a former bright and an indecipherable echo of the past. Who would have known if they’d even survive such a test of time?!
The rediscovery of a National Treasure
Fast forward in time, around the same moment Wentworth Woodhouse was waking up from its dark slumber and into a bright future of restoration, a few miles down the road in Kent, a small but ambitious company called Lumatek horticulture lighting was born.
A family-based enterprise, fuelled by the unwavering will to make a change in the world of modern horticulture and with the strong belief that they had in their hands the future of indoor growing.
The next 20 years were fast paced for these two houses. Wentworth Woodhouse worked hard to bring new life and purpose to the important historical legacy and at the same time focused on giving back to the community as an important cultural hub.
Lumatek simultaneously thrived internationally as a world-renowned brand of horticultural artificial lighting, mainly due to its commitment to the grower community and technological advancement, research and high-end product development.
Both, at their core, shared common values and guidelines but never guessed that 19 camellias would join them together in such a significant way.
Lumatek and Wentworth Woodhouse work together
Lumatek Professional Lighting’s contribution to the preservation of a rare and historic collection of 250-year-old camellias at Wentworth Woodhouse is nothing short of extraordinary.
This Grade I listed country house, located in Rotherham, is a true national treasure, and its collection of camellia plants, discovered by the Head Gardener during renovations. It is a testament to its rich history and cultural significance. The collection includes some of the earliest camellias in the western world.
The awaited restoration of the building that has been home to the camellias for over two centuries is taking place and is near conclusion. However, this process was causing the camellias plants to lose access to a significant amount of their daily natural light due to the work scheduled to be done on the Teahouse Greenhouse roof.
The project team encountered a distinctive challenge since the 19 camellias were too precious and rare to be relocated.
This challenge of great responsibility was promptly accepted by Lumatek. We must consider that these 19 camellias were born before the invention of electrical lighting and now they would be introduced to it directly by Lumatek.
Despite both Lumatek and the Head Gardener’s extensive knowledge and experience, making sure that 250-year-old camellias would respond well to such a different source of light for the first time in their long existence was a first for all parties involved.
Led grow light fixtures to the Camellia plants rescue!
A set of Lumatek’s ATS300W PRO LED Fixtures were carefully installed to assist in maintaining the camellias’ health during this sensitive stage of restoration work that lasted for four breathtaking months.
These high performance Fixtures are specifically designed to act as a single source lighting solution to ensure indoor located plant photosynthesis, and as all Lumatek’s LED products, they are renowned for their exceptional quality and optimal spectrum of light for plant growth thus providing the camellias with the nourishment they need to thrive.
A Lumatek 100W Full-Spectrum Individual Supplemental Light LED Bar was later provided to join the ATS 300W PRO LED to help in the cloning of such precious strains, as well as to preserve for generations to come the important and unique legacy of Wentworth Woodhouse 250-year-old Camellias.
The results of the project for the salvation of the Camellias
The outcome surpassed expectations, as not only did the camellias survive, but they also exhibited a remarkable surge in growth and vitality making this a one-of-a-kind case study and learning experience for all to be applied in the fields of horticulture.
By partnering with the restoration project, Lumatek has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to preserving cultural heritage and supporting the community.
The preservation of this priceless collection of rare and historic camellias is truly an international achievement, made possible by the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the project, including Lumatek.
As a result, future generations will have the opportunity to marvel at this exceptional collection, and Wentworth Woodhouse will continue to be a beacon of cultural significance for years to come.
FAQs – Quick questions and answers about Wentworth Woodhouse and Camellias
Question: Where is Wentworth Woodhouse located?
Answer: Wentworth Woodhouse is an historical landmark and is located in Wentworth, Rotherham, United Kingdom.
Q.: Can I visit the 250 year old Camellias?
A.: The Wentworth Woodhouse Teahouse is currently undergoing its final stages of restoration. There is still no official date for the inauguration and public visits to the site.
Q.: What LED light from Lumatek were used to maintain the Camellias at Wentworth?
A. The Lumatek LED lights chosen for this remarkable task were the ATS 300W Pro LED.
Q.: What are the Camellias Life expectancy?
A. Camellia flowers range in size from 1 – 13 cm (0.4 – 5 inches) and they bloom in autumn, winter and spring. Camellia bushes can live up to 100 to 200 years.
Q.: What is Lumatek Lighting?
A. Lumatek is an International Horticultural Professional Lighting Company based in Kent, specialized in LED Grow Lights for Indoor growing, vertical farming, Greenhouse and also hobby indoor grow.
