For many years, Dr. Luther W. Baxter, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology, maintained this collection with the aid of a group of volunteers. Much of his research focused on camellia diseases, and to reduce root-rot he taught the volunteers how to graft Camellia japonica onto rootstocks of species with greater resistance to root rot. He developed at least two cultivars growing here: 'Beulah Brown Baxter,' named for his wife, and 'Ruth Lennon,' named for the wife of former Clemson University President, Dr. A. Max Lennon.