Camellias You Need to See

A perennial shrub, Camellias are valued for their dark green evergreen leaves and large or showy flowers with colors including white, yellow-pink and red. The Phlox subulate blooms are one of the first of the season and really brighten up your garden because everything is still barely taking colour. Well down south in the heart of camellia country or even farther north, nothing enhances a garden like Camellia japonica. In Alabama for instance, where the common camellia is also the state flower, these shrubs are capable of providing beauty year-round. Cool season bloomers native to eastern and southern Asia, camellias (Theaceous) are of the tea family and break into a chorus of colour when most plants hibernate.

How to Grow and Care For Camellias

Camellias work well in containers or evergreen gardens and can be trained to grow into a small tree with proper attention. Plant them in the fall (or spring—especially in the South). But with more than 3,000 named varieties, the range of colors, forms and sizes is immense. If you plan to keep your ferns outdoors, these ones are great because they’re all deer-resistant plants. They grow about a foot a year and need well-drained soil. Avoid the color looking bleached or burned by planting them in partial shade, watering frequently and ensuring they have appropriate mulch. If you do decide to get rid of your camellias, well that is just too bad for you because those beautiful flowers bloom during the winter months so honestly you have nothing but yourself to blame.

Camellias You Need to See

• The care of camellias begins with the timing for planting; most areas growing this flower can plant in spring or fall.
• In the Upper South, get it in the ground and established before cold weather sets in.
• Place mulch over the newly spring bulbs, to keep roots cool and soil moist.
• This is so important that regular watering for the first year should be allowed to help young plants acclimate themselves.
• Choose a location with rich soil to ensure it will be enjoyed for years.
• Camellias are perfect for planting a stunning natural screen in your garden or beautiful specimen plants around the house.
• It is the best approach to managing growth as well as appearance that can add to your decor.
• Camellias do best in dappled light or partial shade.
• Seedlings fancy crowding tall trees, or at north of a domicile.
• Over time, the thickness of the canopy and shade will cascade down towards its roots, as a growing Camellia eventually outgrows itself to create space for sunlight.
• And in the winter protect them.
• Grow in organically rich, well drained, slightly acidic soil for best performance.
• Incorporate organic matter for improved drainage.

Types of Camellias

Tea-Oil Camellia (C. oleifera)

Camellias will be hard to grow if you reside in the Upper or Tropical South. But don’t worry! There are hybrids that can even survive in the two extremes of weather. The Tea-Oil camellia (C. oleifera) is an excellent candidate for Zone 6 where it outshines the others in hardiness. It can also tolerate low winter temperatures: without the summer rain and wind, if it has some shelter.

Polar Ice was the pick and certainly one of the crowd pleasers with its semi-double white flowers from mid-fall to early winter. Winter’s Charm is another top pick — a frilly pink peony that blooms through the end of October into December. For an unusual variety opt for Winter’s Dream, a semi-double with glowing pink blooms and fierce yellow stamens. Winter’s Star is a bold choice, blooming with single flowers in the fall. Finally, the Lu Shan Snow has white flowers and cinnamon-colored bark that makes it a terrific option for cold-hardy landscape development.

Common Camellia (C. japonica)

Famed for its beautiful flowers, the Common Camellia—known as Japanese camellia by many gardeners— is a beloved ornamental species. One of the best shade-loving shrubs there are, and it will even grow as far south as most of Florida and be good for all Zones up to Zone 6. They sport flowers in a variety of colors available from local nurseries. An award-winning, late-winter-to-early-spring bloomer with bright red, sweet-scented flowers includes Kramer’s Supreme among the popular choices.

White By The Gate — Multi-layered blooms of pure white that are perfect for a formal occasion or even as a bride’s wedding bouquet. The Debutante variety shines in the Tropical South for a warm-climate allium that has peony-style blooms with light pink charm. Highly ruffled varieties: If you love unique shapes, see Professor Charles S. Sargent April Blush, April Dawn, and April Tryst are among the hardy northern series. They all deliver such pretty blooms in any garden.

Unique Fall-Blooming Beauty: Sasanqua Camellia (C. sasanqua)

If you are looking to bring some cheer and color to the garden during the cooler months, then the Sasanqua camellias (C. sasanqua), or their hybrids might be just what you need. The fall-blooming species grow conveniently, mature at 10-12 feet in height and width. Their lush green leaves and stunning blooms brighten up the landscape while the rest of the world prepares to settle in for a long winter slumber. Noteworthy for their ruffled, rosy-red flowers, one of the first to bloom in autumn is Alabama Beauty.

If you are in Zone 10, try Yuletide that gives beautiful cherry red single blooms during winter. Both the Siren series in red or purple, and the Oct. The Magic series from Southern Living Plant Collection displays white, ruby, blush pink, pink-line, crimson and deep pink varieties of crapes, some of which are double forms. Shishi Gashira – This type of camellia stands out because it is a dwarf variety, reaching only 5 feet tall and featuring hot pink, semi-double blooms. Including these lovelies in the yard allows a little color throughout very early wintertime.

Pruning Camellias

Prune camellias shortly after they have finished flowering to ensure a healthy camellia. Cut out all dead or weak wood. For plants that are so densely grown that no flower can fully open, time to thin the branches. Shorter the lower branches as well to ensure a balanced growth of them towards upright. This creates a fuller, more appealing shrub.

When pruning, make your cuts just over a scar that marks the end of growth last year. This scar is typically a stretch of bark that has become slightly thicker and in different colors. In doing so, you not only cause three or four dominant buds to grow, which is what most of us are looking for. A few simple steps will ensure you have lovely camellias in your landscape

How to Propagate Camellia from Cuttings

Read on to learn how to propagate camellias. Cut back in late Spring or early Summer, after flowering has finished and new growth has hardened off. To establish cuttings, begin by taking short (five to six nodes from the tip), fresh stem cuttings. Cut the stem into 4-inch sections. Be sure to remove the bottom set of leaves (good time to prune) on your cutting to allow for a better rooting.

Pine the cuttings, then dip all of it into rooting hormone powder. Next, stick each cutting of your plant in a pot that is full of damp and light-weight potting soil. When finished planting, place each cutting beneath a clear plastic bag to create a mini greenhouse and keep them in bright indirect sunlight. Keep the soil moist when it just starts to dry out. The camellias will be ready for transplant when there are roots till the side of the pot, which can take a few weeks to months depending on the growing season. Alternatively, you can pot them in bigger pots and grow on until ready to plant out in the garden.

Growing Camellias from Seed

Germinating Camellia Seeds – How long does it take Growing camellias from seed can be fun and rewarding but you have to get past the first stage. So let me start by saying Camellias do not breed true from seed, which means the seedling will often appear different from the parent plant. If you want to attempt this, then begin by harvesting seeds when the pods split slightly. The seeds are pre-soaked in water for about 12 hours, to help them start germinating. These ‘Palmy’ seeds should be placed in some fresh, high quality soil or peat moss and sand after 24 hours of soaking. Keep the soil moist and in about 1 month you should see them start to sprout.

You’ve already thought about and started seeding your plants, but another equally important step is potting the seedlings. Go for gallon-size containers if the plants are young. As a general rule, smaller plants should be kept in containers with 12 to 14 inches of diameter and larger species will need pots between 16 and 18 inches. Use pots with plentiful drain holes and plant using a potting mix that contains at least 50 percent organic material. Good potting encourages your camellias to make strong growth, whether they are kept in a conservatory or outside on a terrace. Following these steps should have your camellias growing strong!

Common Challenges With Camellias

Camellias are beauties of nature but have some difficulties. A common problem is chlorosis, where the leaves turn yellow with green veins. This occurs mostly when the soil is alkaline. To remedy chelated iron can be applied and soil amended with peat moss or sulfur to adjust the pH. Among other concerns are diseases that affect the tea plant, such as camellia dieback and canker, which might leave your plants in a weakened state. If you see black or brown leaves, remove a twig or two and take care of the surrounding aralia in order to help it recover..

Bud Drop is another common issue happening with orchids. This is caused directly from over watering or very sudden freezes, so make sure to keep plants hydrated. My first suspect as always is aphid honeydew and the sooty mold that follows. Apply a copper-based plus acephate or dimethoate insecticide if you see this. Caring for your camellias properly really helps keep them going, and with the correct maintenance they can look beautiful in your garden for a long time.

FAQs

What is camellia famous for?

Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub that is often referred to as the ‘tea plant’, being the most common source of plants used to make tea, which is of course primarily prepared from young leaf shoots, resulting in green (non-fermented) tea, black (fully fermented) tea and white tea but also oolong and other types of chinese teas. It may not be the most showy of Camellias but it is definitely the most tasty.

What do camellias symbolize?

Meaning and Symbolism of Camellia Flower

What Does A Camellia Say About The Recipient?The camellia flower carries with it a handful of meanings, regardless of what color you prefer, but the primary significance behind the property could be somewhat watered down according to color.

What is the Specialty of camellia flower?

Move over roses, camellias are some of the most romantic blooms you’ll find. They symbolize romantic love, loyalty, and care deeply.

Why camellia flower chanel?

The tale of CHANEL and the Camellia started with Mademoiselle, who pinned one of the white blooms she wore that day to her belt in 1913. The simplicity, the image, the innocence and life (it bloomed in winter proud), She was seduced.

Is camellia poisonous?

Researchers have been studying the impact of camellias — the evergreen trees that burst into an explosion of flowers this time of year — on humans’ health for years. It states: All species of Camellias, including Camellia sinensis and Camellia japonica are non-toxic to humans.

Is camellia male or female?

The camellia flower is, therefore, a bisexual which means the male and female sexual parts are produced on the same flower.