The Camellia, Winter Wonders, Add Them to Your Winter Landscape

                   Camellia in the Rain

               After a long hard winter, the holidays are over and the garden looks pretty much desolate.   The snowdrop, daffodil and crocus may be most everyone’s idea of harbingers of spring, but in late winter, on those sunny but still chill winter days from November to late February, it’s those absolutely magnificent Camellia blossoms that can bring some sunshine into your life.

                There are over 3000 varieties of camellia, and the most well known is the Camellia sinensis, the plant from which we derive that most English of beverages, a cup of tea.   Although you can make tea from other camellias, they are inferior and bitter.  There are many different flower forms. The Camellia japonica grows stunning large flowers.  A lovely one is “Adolphe Audusson,” whose deep red flowers are more numerous and appear earlier than other types.   Camellia sasanqua “Yuletide” is a single, which has one row of fiery red petals with a center of brilliant gold stamens.  “Diana” is a semi-double, with two or more rows of snowy white petals. “C.M. Wilson” or “Elegans” which are anemones, have two or more rows of large pink outer petals surrounding a central mass of intermingled petaloids and stamens.  “Debutante,” is a pretty pink peony variety, which as the name implies, is much looser, puffball form. There is also a rose form, such as “Prince Eugene,” a deeper red blossom with imbricated pure white petals in multiple layers that cover the stamens entirely.

                The Camellia is a hardy plant in zones 8 and 9, but doesn’t like the temperature to drop below 10 degrees Fahrenheit.  It can be grown successfully indoors, but needs cool nights, and good shelter from strong winds.  Moderate regular watering is best, as with its fine root system, it cannot tolerate being dry.  It is especially important to remember to water during the hot summer months or the buds and flowers will not open.  Feeding is done with a half-strength acid-loving plant fertilizer Miracid or an Azalea and Camellia plant food.  Camellias seem to thrive without too much attention in the mild climate of the maritime Pacific Northwest.

                Camellias can be propagated from seed by first soaking the seed in warm water for a day or so, and then removing the outer casing.  It is a fairly fast germinator.  Hardwood cuttings can be taken from winter throughout the summer, although rooting is slow and should be enhanced with the use of rooting hormone and bottom heat.

                The Camellia should be planted in semi-shade, be protected from the sun in all areas where humidity is low, and never be planted directly into a north wind.  This shrub also prefers a well-drained slightly acidic soil, keeping the roots cool and moist.  Standing the pots on bricks will allow the moisture to drain away from the soil.  Prune out weak, spindly growth in the dormant season to encourage branching, and cut out low growing or crossed branches to let air and light in.  This will help prevent pests and disease.  For showier blossoms pinch off buds when too many appear.  This will produce larger, showier healthy flowers, and will add a glorious addition to your winter landscape.   

                So, don’t let your garden become dull and drab in the long winter months, plant some Camellias and transform it into a winter wonderland.