Camellias originate from eastern Asia, Indo-China and Japan and are long-lived, evergreen shrubs. They were grown for many years as subtropical plants in greenhouses and indoors as house plants, but many varieties will also survive in the garden. Grown for their beautiful flowers that appear early in the season, starting from late winter, Camellias are one the most beautiful and elegant shrubs that you can grow in your garden. They are suited for a border or woodland garden but also as specimen plants in the garden or in containers. Some varieties were bred to withstand frosts up to minus 18 Celsius degrees (-0.4 F). If you live in an area where frosts are more severe than this, you can still grow Camellias in your garden but wrap them with rush mats and hessian to provide insulation. Never use polythene.
Plant your Camellia in a sheltered place, because hard winds will damage their leaves by drying them especially if the soil is frozen solid. The soil should be moist but with good drainage because it must never dry out but also not to be too wet. A lightly acidic soil is the perfect choice for your Camellia. If none of those conditions suit your garden then you can plant your Camellia in a raised bed with equal mixture of garden soil and peat. Choose carefully the place where you will plant your Camellia because its roots are shallow and don’t like to be disturbed or damaged.
The place where you plant your Camellia should be out of the morning sun, preferably a place in partial shade, to prevent the soil around the roots to dry out too fast but a place with good light, as Camellias do need plenty of light in order to flower abundantly. The shade of the flowers can vary from red to pink to white or yellow and sometimes have multi-colored stripes or specks. The flowers may also be solitary, paired or clustered and sometimes flagrant.
This plant grow slowly but steadily, reaching up to several meters in high, but if your garden space is insufficient you can prune it to an acceptable shape after the flowering is finished. Over the growing period water freely and apply a balanced liquid fertilizer in mid-spring and again in early summer. Top-dress annually with shredded bark.
Propagation can be done by rooting leaf bud or semi-ripe cuttings of the current year’s growth from late summer to late winter or by grafting in late winter.
Camellia Japonica is one of the most known and grown type of Camellia.
