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Drechmeria-RBGV/McCaskill Gardens
Vern Otho McCaskill
BornJanuary 11 1902[1]
DiedMarch 23, 1992(1992-03-23) (aged 90)[1]
Resting placeSan Gabriel Cemetery, California, United States.[2][3]
ChildrenJack Vernon McCaskill (1929-2001), June McCaskill (1930-2001), and Betty Lee Sample (1921-2002).

Vern McCaskill (1902 - 1992) was a prominent nurseryman active in southern California for much of the 20th century who specialised in breeding Camellia and Azalea cultivars. He was the father of the botanist and herbarium curator June McCaskill.

Early Life

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In June 1918, McCaskill was recruited from Missouri, and admitted to the United States Naval Academy at the age of 16.[4] While enrolled he met Billie Lee Nowlin (1902-1986)[3], then a student at Drury University and they soon married. [5]

This led to his dismissal from the Academy in March 1919, "since a midshipman at the Academy could not have a wife, a horse, or a beared," and it ended his military career.[5][6]

The newlyweds went to California for their honeymoon, and initially returned to Missouri before relocating in the early 1920s.[7][5] Vern and Billie found work at the Coolidge Rare Plant Gardens, which their daughter June attributed to cultivating their love of exotic garden plants.[7]

Horticultural Legacy

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Billie Lee and Vern built their home, and opened a nursery on South Michillinda Avenue in Pasadena, California, in 1932.[7][8] Specialising in Camellias and Azaleas, the business became the largest Camellia nursery in the southern California region.[9] Over his horticultural career, between 1930 and 1988, McCaskill developed 72 Camellia japonica cultivars and eight non-reticulata hybrids between 1930 and 1988.[10] [11] In the 1970s, due to the long periods of time needed to create new Camellia cultivars and hybids, McCaskill switched to Iris ser. Californicae, and started to sell Iris cultivars.[12]

As an accredited Camellia judge,[13] McCaskill also became the director of the Southern California Camellia Society.[8] He was the editor of the first Camellia nomenclature book in 1942. Entitled Classification of Camellias it listed 196 varieties. He also edited the first Camellia taxonomy work in 1947 with William E. Woodroof and O.L. Eakin, with 911 cultivars, as The Camellia, Its Culture and Nomenclature.[14]

Vern is credited as hybridisers of the following Irises:

  • Iris 'Hidden Shadows' [15]
  • Iris 'Kaweah Maiden' [16]
  • Iris 'Kaweah Sunrise' [17]
  • Iris 'Showers of Flowers' [18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vern Otho McCaskill". California, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Cemetery Association, Cemetery Index 1872-2003. FamilySearch. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  2. ^ Pasadena-Star News (2011–2020). "Bettylee M. Sample: Obituary". Pasadena-Star News. Pasadena-Star News. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Drechmeria-RBGV/McCaskill Gardens at Find a Grave
  4. ^ United States Naval Academy (1918). Annual register of the United States Naval Academy. Annapolis, Md. Seventy-Fourth Academic Year, 1918-1919. Washington: Government Printing Office.
  5. ^ a b c Pieri, Ernest (Ernie). "Know your Southern California Camellia nurserymen: Part 1" (PDF). The Camellia Review. 23 (1): 11–13, 28. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  6. ^ United States Naval Academy (1919). Annual register of the United States Naval Academy. Annapolis, Md. Seventy-Fifth Academic Year 1919-1920. Washington: Government Printing Office.
  7. ^ a b c The Regents of the University of California (1989). June McCaskill: Herbarium Scientist, University of California, Davis (PDF). Berkeley: University of California.
  8. ^ a b "Don't be Disappointed: McCaskill Gardens" (PDF). The Camellia Review. 20 (8): 17. July 1959. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ^ Tucker, J.M. (2004). "June McCaskill (1930–2001)" (PDF). Fremontia. 32 (2): 19–23.
  10. ^ King, Bradford (2014). "Remembering Our Past: Vernon McCaskill" (PDF). The Camellia Journal. September–November: 12–14.
  11. ^ King, Bradford (2018). "Spotlight: C. hybrid 'Waltz Time Variegated'" (PDF). The Camellia Journal. March–May: 2.
  12. ^ Hawkinson, William (Fall 1978). "The Big Bonanza" (PDF). Almanac of the Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris. 6 (1): 13. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ Stambach, George (September 1973). "Judging Classifications" (PDF). Almanac of the Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris. 1 (1): 6. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  14. ^ "P2024 Camellia Nomenclature". Southern California Camellia Society. Southern California Camellia Society. 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Pacific Coast Iris (Iris 'Hidden Shadows')". Plants Database. The National Gardening Association. 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Pacific Coast Iris (Iris 'Kaweah Maiden')". Plants Database. The National Gardening Association. 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Pacific Coast Iris (Iris 'Kaweah Sunrise')". Plants Database. The National Gardening Association. 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Pacific Coast Iris (Iris 'Showers of Flowers')". Plants Database. The National Gardening Association. 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.



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