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.
Not only do camellias make fine specimen plants, but they 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.
Growing Camellias In Not Difficult
Growing camellias in gardens are not difficult, providing 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.
Camellias Lighting Requirements
The best exposure is a partly shaded one. In their natural Oriental habitat, camellias are undershrubs in open woodlands.
The ideal 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.
Many of the areas in which camellias are used as garden plants are regions of heavy rainfall – the Atlantic coast from Norfolk southward, the Gulf coast country, and the Pacific Northwest.
In such regions as elsewhere, good drainage must be provided even though rainfall may be seasonal.
This is a basic necessity. Elevated or sloping ground furnishes the right sort of location.
If this is not available, 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.
Soil And Mulch For Your Camellia Bushes
The reaction of the soil in which camellias are grown should be somewhere 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.
A good mulch is helpful in maintaining the correct soil reaction.
This may be composed of leaves, pine needles, bark, peanut hulls, acid peat, bagasse, or similar materials. The mulch yields acid as it decays and, in addition, regulates soil temperature and moisture.
Planting Camellia Shrubs
The planting operation is a very important one, for, at that time, 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 in 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 planting; it is only vegetable fiber, and roots grow through it.
The Soil
It is essential that the soil for camellias is acid 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 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 of soil.
The Hole
The hole dug for each plant should be a foot wider and six inches deeper than the root ball. If the plant is a large one, the size of the hole in excess of the root ball should be even larger.
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 surface of the ball 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 three-quarters 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.
Thereafter 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.
When To Fertilize 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. 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 two or three applications. If well-rotted manure is available, use it for it is good fertilizer.
If the plants are mulched, do not remove the mulch when they are fertilized. Spread the fertilizer over the surface and water it in.
Camellia Pest Problems
For many years insects gave relatively little trouble, but as plants have increased in numbers, so have insect pests.
Camellia insects include aphids, tea scale, camellia scale, peony scale, Florida red scale, and red mites. Though red mites are not insects, they are also included in the list.
Contact your local extension service for pests control options in your area.
Camellia Selection
A selection of camellias may be difficult without some help.
There are many varieties derived for the most part from two species, Camellia japonica, and Camellia sasanqua, many more from the first than from the second.
A selection of japonica varieties may be based on color:
- White
- Pink
- Red
- Variegated
or it may be based on the blooming season:
- Early (before Christmas)
- Midseason (between Christmas and February 20)
- Late (after February 20)
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.
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 midseason.
Incomplete double varieties make up the largest portion of the Japonica group.
Camellia sasanqua varieties are available in September, flowering to December.
FGR-1149 by H Hume, edits by BestPlants staff