Camellias take centre stage

Throughout the warmer months they have been fulfilling their role in the garden as dense bushy shrubs, hedges, espaliers or even topiary feature plants with luscious glossy deep green foliage.

It is a role that they do exceptionally well without a lot of fuss or care.

They are extremely resistant to insect attack, fungal or disease problems and require little to no pruning to keep them in shape.

Given the right conditions they are an easy and rewarding plant to grow.

However, as winter rolls on, camellias come into their own with their floral displays in a range of shapes, colour and sizes, with most of them being abundant in the amount of flowers they will produce over their flowering period.

In garden centres, you will mostly find three main types of camellias: Camellia sasanqua, Camellia japonica and Camellia reticulata.

In among these you will often find a number of them that have been hybridised with another variety called Camellia saluenensis.

Camellia saluenensis is a wild unruly, rather uninteresting species of camellia from south-central China.

However, some of the characteristics it brings with it when used in hybridising with Camellia japonica or Camellia reticulata include the ability to flower incredibly profusely over a long period, to drop their old flowers naturally rather leaving them hanging on the bush, a higher level of cold tolerance and an adaptability to sunnier positions.

Camellia saluenensis crosses easily with Camellia japonicas to make a group known as williamsii crosses, which are popular with gardeners.

Most camellias grow at a slow to moderate rate and prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH of about 5.5 to 6.5.

They thrive in moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter.

Because they have shallow roots, a good layer of mulch will help keep the root zone cool until the plants are large enough to shade their own roots.

The first of the camellias to flower are the Camellia sasanqua; these are the varieties that do well in the full sun to part shade positions in the garden.

They also lend themselves well to espalier, topiary and hedging.

They often have a less complex flower than other types of camellias, but make up for it in quantity of flowers they produce.

With the main flowering from April onwards, they really herald the coming of winter.

Some of the hardiest varieties of camellias are from this group. Sasanqua camellias initially grow quite open, sparse and lanky, but will fill in and become bushy dense plants as they mature.

Camellia japonicas, with their larger leaves and more complex flowers, are starting to flower now.

They prefer a cooler, shadier position than the sasanquas, but still grow extremely well in our region.

Their flowers are fuller, mostly double or semi-double and quite often very formal in shape.

They are generally larger growing, with some of these varieties reaching over three metres high.

Camellia x williamsii hybrids are also beginning to flower.

They share many of the qualities of japonicas, but tolerate more sun, provided their roots are kept cool.

Camellia reticulatas, with their even larger full heavy flowers, are usually the last to start flowering, and again they require a shady position, preferably sheltered from the wind.

During the camellia flowering season, we often get customers coming in, all with the same problem of their camellias flower buds not opening and just dropping off.

This is called bud balling or bud lock. One of the main causes of this in our region is that the plants have been allowed to dry out too much while the buds were being set.

This is typically in March, and it is easy to see how it happens.

As the days cool down a bit so does our attention to watering and the tip of the bud dries out, locking the petals in behind it.

In most cases, bud balling on camellias can be prevented by keeping an eye on their water requirements as the buds form.

The problem can also occasionally be caused by high humidity or hot north winds late in March, which is a bit beyond our control.

Some of the camellias looking great in the Garden Centre now are, Camellia Shishigashira and Camellia Hiryu, which are both sasanqua, japonica hybrid crosses.

Camellia Debbie and Water Lily are both williamsii hybrids.

Camellia japonica Great Eastern, Happy Holidays and Kathrin Nuccio, the earlier flowering japonicas, are just coming into flower. In Camellia sasanquas, look out for Yuletide, Pure Silk, Setsugekka, Paradise Pearl, With Love and Rose Anne.

Then there are also some other hybrids, like Sweet Jane, Volunteer and It’s Gorgeous, that are worth checking out.

But if you are looking for a real feature for your garden, we have a few advanced Camellia Paradise Blush standards and a few smaller Yuletide standards that are just starting to flower and will make a great statement piece either in a pot or planted into the garden.