Where: Location Planting
When deciding where to plant a camellia, several leading factors must be considered. These should be determined before considering what might be termed local or personal problems.
Matter of Color
One factor is the matter of color. Generally, varieties bearing red flowers will tolerate more sun than those with white, pastel, or variegated flowers.
There are. However, exceptions to this rule and a few whites and light pinks will tolerate a surprising amount of sun. One, therefore, needs to become acquainted with the varieties to be planted.
Seasonal Adjustments For Sun and Heat Tolerance
Many camellias have variegated foliage. From a cultural standpoint, perhaps the only disadvantage is that these camellia plants will suffer damage from the sun more readily than plants of the same variety, which are not variegated.
Another phase of sun and heat tolerance relates to the plant’s adjustment. A camellia set out in autumn or early winter will adjust itself to tolerate much more sun and heat than a comparable camellia planted in spring or summer.
One should not place a camellia near a wall or paved surface where it will receive reflected, accumulated heat during the hotter day.
A plant subjected to reflected heat will often be damaged, whereas a similar camellia in the open will suffer no harm from the same weather conditions. When a camellia is in a doubtful location, mulch and provide shade.
Size of The Plant
Still, another sun factor depends on the size of the plant. Generally, a large camellia will tolerate more sun than a small plant. This, no doubt, is partly due to the extra shade afforded the root zone by the plant’s branches and foliage.
Camellias can be safely exposed to more sun in regions of high natural humidity than in areas where the humidity is often low.
It is best to remember that the hottest part of the day is normally between eleven and three; provision should be made to give newly planted camellias some shade during this period unless the humidity is very high.
Light Shade
As a general rule, camellias do best when grown in light shade. This can be provided by high, open trees, such as oaks or pines; by shade structures, such as lath houses; or by placing the camellias on the east or north side of a building or wall where they will be protected from the intensity of the midday sun but will receive plenty of light from the open sky.
However, screening out too much of the sunlight is dangerous. Many people think of camellias as shade plants and tend to overemphasize the shade.
Camellias growing in heavy shade will not set flower buds as freely as those planted in the open sunlight or light shade.
They soon tend to become pale and spindly, with weak stems. A certain amount of sun is essential to good, sturdy growth; the plant’s chlorophyll cannot do its work except in the presence of adequate light.
Planting Location and Wind Exposure
Camellias are best planted where they will not be affected by drying winds, either summer or winter.
Winds can be especially harmful in freezing weather because freezing is a drying action, and the plant’s exposure to cold winds intensifies this action.
In gardens near the seacoast, care should be taken to place camellias where they will be protected from damage by salt spray and strong winds.
Trees or hedges with shallow, invasive root systems should also be avoided, as they always rob neighboring plants of needed moisture and nutrients.
If the planting site chosen is near a building, one should search beforehand for evidence of buried debris. Many contractors and builders have the bad habit of disposing of mortar and rubble by burying them on the spot.
Such materials, especially those containing lime, would have a detrimental effect on the health and growth of camellias.
A building or wall’s proximity is undesirable unless the specimen is intended as an espalier. Plants naturally grow toward the light, so only when evenly exposed will they develop equally on all sides.
How: Growing Camellias
Camellias can be grown in a wide variety of soils and under many conditions. Still, a critical factor in the growth of a healthy camellia plant is the presence of humus or well-decomposed organic matter.
Soil Mixture
Humus plays a valuable role in sandy soils because it can hold moisture. It serves an equally significant purpose in heavy clay soils because it helps prevent the packing and formation of clods, making such soils relatively impervious to moisture.
Many growers use their favorite soil mixes. A popular one found satisfactory by most consists of equal parts, by bulk, of peat, leaf mold, and sandy garden loam.
Proper Drainage
The camellia is native to areas of comparatively high rainfall, but observers report that wild camellias are generally found on hilltops or slopes that afford abundant natural drainage.
Few gardens possess such ideal locations; therefore, drainage must frequently be artificially provided to prevent the roots from becoming waterlogged.
If the soil in which the planting is to be made is heavy, the hole for the camellia should be dug approximately a foot deeper than normal, and the soil therein generously mixed with coarse gravel or pieces of broken crock.
A camellia plant will survive drying far longer than it will tolerate soggy soil around its roots. In some areas where the water table is naturally near the soil surface, it is desirable to construct a mound of soil on which to grow the plant.
Planting Depth
Perhaps the most important rule governing camellia planting is that the camellia must not be planted too deep. This cannot be overemphasized. When signs of ill health appear, the first thing to be determined is whether the plant is at the proper soil level.
The camellia is a shallow-rooted plant with many surface roots sensitive to too-deep planting.
A good method of checking the planting depth is to dig down alongside the trunk with the fingers until the first roots are encountered.
The plant may be considered too deep for best results if they are more than 1″ inch below the soil level.
It is the experience of many growers that it is safer to have one or more top roots exposed (although this practice is not advocated) than to have these roots covered with several inches of soil.
A camellia should be planted so that its soil surface is approximately 2″ to 3″ inches above the general soil level.
The reason for this is that the soil mix on which the plant rests, especially if the soil contains considerable humus, will, in time, lower the plant’s level, thus permitting the soil to wash in over the sunken roots.
When a camellia is planted on a slope, it is best to build up a mound on the lower side of the plant to provide a level basin to hold moisture rather than to cut down the bank on the upper side.
When a bank is cut into, soil and debris from the slope above wash down and cover the plant’s roots, thus jeopardizing its health.
Preparing Soil Mixture and Hole
Everything should be in readiness before actual planting operations are begun. Many growers believe it is desirable to have the soil mix prepared several weeks before the operation. At planting time, it should be moist but not wet.
A good test is to squeeze a handful. If it crumbles when the hand is released, it is too dry. It is too wet if it forms a soggy ball or if moisture can be squeezed from the soil.
The soil ball should retain its form when the hand is released but should easily break apart when dropped.
Several inches of the soil mix should be placed in the hole and thoroughly tamped so the plant rests on a firm foundation.
When placing the soil around the plant, care should be taken that no air spaces are left among the roots, for they damage the roots by drying and also afford hiding places for insect pests. Air spaces can be eliminated by “puddling.”
The soil around the plant should be firm, and the hole should be flooded with water when half-filled. This should be repeated when the hole has been filled and a temporary saucer has been formed.
Enough water should be supplied to ensure thorough moistening of the surrounding soil and the ball of soil immediately around the plant.
Transplanting
Cutting away all dead and weak branches when transplanting a camellia is well. Approximately a third of the foliage should be removed except on container-grown plants. This serves to compensate for the loss of roots in transplanting.
It is often advisable to provide a temporary shade until the plant has had time to adjust itself to the new location. Daily syringing, particularly during the day’s heat, is also considered beneficial.
Special care must be taken during this adjustment period to ensure that the plant is watered with such care that it will become neither dry nor soggy.
When: Ideal Time To Plant
The ideal time in which to plant camellias is considered in many areas to be early fall. At that period of the year, the ground is still warm, so root growth will continue, while the air is becoming increasingly cooler so that the foliage will become hardened and inactive.
Springtime is another favorable period if planting is done after the cold weather has passed and before new growth has started to develop. Cold weather planting should be avoided.
If they are in good health, most camellias have two periods of active growth during which it is not advisable to transplant. These growth periods normally occur in late spring and again in late summer.
Although it is relatively safe to transplant camellias between these periods of growth, this rest period is not favored because it comes when flower buds are being initiated and because weather conditions are likely to be more extreme.
44659 by William E. Wylam