Camellias cannot be surpassed by any of the broadleaved evergreen shrubs in all those areas where they may be grown as garden plants.
Any garden in which they are used freely is lifted out of the commonplace, and even a single specimen improves its own surroundings.
Various Uses Of Camellias
Camellias make good specimen plants and are excellent as accent plants, useful for screens, and unsurpassed as hedge plants, standing pruning well.
In the shade, they grow and bloom as no other shrubs will. And in addition, camellias may be grown in pots and tubs.
Many fine old specimens, clothed in glossy green foliage and an abundance of blossoms, have survived years of neglect in various parts of the south and west.
Provide Suitable Growing Conditions
Growing camellias in gardens are not difficult provided they are given suitable exposure, good drainage, acid soil, and are planted correctly.
Attention should also be given to fertilizing, watering, syringing, and insect control. Under suitable climatic conditions, success follows.
The best exposure is a partly shaded one. In their natural Oriental habitat, camellias are undershrubs in open woodlands.
The idea is to approximate those conditions as nearly as possible. Plant them where they will be in light shade for half the day, particularly in the morning.
If no shade is available, provide some by planting rapidly growing trees that will overtop the camellias. Pine or albizzia would be good selections for this purpose.
Furnish The Right Location
Many of the areas in which camellias are used as garden plants are regions of heavy rainfall on the Atlantic coast from Norfolk southward, the Gulf coast country, and the Pacific Northwest.
Good drainage must be provided in such regions as elsewhere, even though rainfall may be seasonal. This is a basic necessity.
Elevated or sloping ground furnishes the right sort of location.
If this is unavailable, a location can be improved by moving in the soil to raise it.
If there are good drainage outlets, the problem can be solved by digging large holes and partly filling them with a lime-free rock before planting on top of them.
The reaction of the soil in which camellias are grown should be between pH 4.5 and 5.5. This may vary upward in certain locations.
It is well to have the soil in which the plants are growing checked from time to time if the pH of the soil surrounding planting is higher than 6. It can be lowered through the use of aluminum sulfate and sulfur.
Good Mulching
A good mulch helps maintain the correct soil reaction. This may include leaves, pine needles, bark, peanut hulls, acid peat, bagasse, or similar materials.
The mulch yields acid as it decays and regulates soil temperature and moisture.
Planting Operation
The planting operation is very important, and it is possible to make provisions for the future welfare of plants that cannot be done so well later.
When the plants are received from the nursery, whether grown in open ground or containers, their roots are encased in a ball of earth.
Open ground plants will be balled and burlapped. This burlap should not be removed when plantingóit is only vegetable fiber, and roots grow through it.
It is essential that the soil for camellias is acidic and that it contains goodly amounts of organic material.
Suitable soil should be composed of 1/4 part each of good garden soil, acid peat, well-rotted manure, and sharp sand.
Woods Mold And Leaf Compost
Woods mold and leaf compost also are good materials that may replace soil and peat.
The soil may be further enriched by adding a quart of camellia fertilizer to each wheelbarrow.
The hole dug for each plant should be a foot wider and 6” inches deeper than the root ball.
If the plant is a large one, the hole in excess of the root ball should be even larger.
Here’s how to plant Camellias:
- Fill the hole with planting soil to the proper level and pack it in place.
- Then set the plant in the hole so that the ball’s surface is slightly above the surrounding earth level. This brings the upper roots within the ball right up to the surface. There is no surer way to stunt a camellia plant or even kill it than to plant it too deeply.
- Pack the soil well around the plant until the hole is ¾ full.
- Fill the remaining quarter with water, and when it has seeped down, complete filling the hole with soil.
- Make a basin about the plant by shaping the soil and filling this with water.
- Syringe the top of the plant and mulch the ground around it.
- After that, give particular attention to watering as needed and syringe the plant frequently.
It is well to remember that the root system of a newly set plant is usually very limited, and water is, therefore, all the more essential.
Fertilization Of Camellias
Camellias must be fertilized from time to time if they are to produce good flowers. Some growers have had bad results from fertilizing.
When they have, it is safe to guess they have used too little or too much fertilizer or the wrong kind. Good camellia fertilizers are available in the trade.
March: First Fertilization
Fertilize in March, again in June or July. Some growers like to give an application in October. These dates will vary somewhat according to locality.
A plant 2′ feet high should have a quarter of a pound at each application, thinly applied around it and not right up against its trunk.
A camellia plant 5′ feet high and 3′ feet across the branches can use a pound in each of 2 or 3 applications.
Well-Rooted Manure: Good Fertilizer
If well-rotted manure is available, use it as a good fertilizer. If the plants are mulched, do not remove the mulch when fertilized.
Spread the fertilizer over the surface and water it in.
For many years insects gave relatively little trouble, but as plants have increased in numbers, so have insect pests.
Camellia Prevention And Control Of Pest Problems
Parathion: Insecticide
Parathion appears to answer the camellia growers’ prayer for an insecticide that kills or controls camellia insects leaving the plants unharmed.
Dr. L. C. Kuiert of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station has found that the most important camellia insects, aphids, tea scale, camellia scale, peony scale, and Florida red scale, can be controlled effectively with parathion.
Though they are not insects, red mites are also included in the list.
It can be emphasized further that parathion can be used safely (that is, without injury to camellias) in cold weather, in warm weather, and on tender, immature growth.
It should be used at the rate of 3 pounds of 15% wettable parathion powder to 100 gallons of water. For those who do not need that much 1 ounce to 2 gallons of water may be used.
Parathion insecticide is sold under various trade names.
- Mix the powder in a small quantity of water and then mix it with the whole amount.
- Follow directions on the container for handling and use.
- Spraying must be done thoroughly and completely.
For red mite control, repeat in about 12 days to take care of those that have batched out after the first spraying.
Varieties Of Camellias
A selection of camellias may be difficult without some help.
Wide varieties are derived mostly from two species, Camellia japonica, and Camellia sasanqua, many more from the first than from the second.
Color Selection
A selection of japonica varieties may be based on color. These include:
- White
- Pink
- Red
- Variegated
Season Factors
It may also be based on the blooming season:
- Early (before Christmas)
- Midseason (between Christmas and February 20)
- Late (after February 20)
Form Of Camellias
…or it may be based on the form:
- Single
- Semidouble
- Incomplete double
- Complete double
The complete doubles are further divided into imbricated, incomplete imbricated, tiered, and irregular.
Flowering Varieties
Those who work in the warmer sections are well advised to stick to early flowering varieties and those that open in the first part of mid-season.
Incomplete double varieties make up the largest portion of the Japonica group.
All sasanqua varieties now available in the trade are early. they begin in September, flowering in December.
44659 by H. Harold Hume