Cold Hardy Camellia Selections

While most camellias are only hardy to zone 7, gardeners in more severe climates will be glad to know about the breakthroughs in camellia breeding that allows for a wider selection than ever before of cold-hardy camellias.

Camellia Breeders Ackerman and Parks

These camellia enthusiasts from Maryland and North Carolina have been two of the most instrumental forces in creating a selection of cold-hardy camellia cultivars for modern gardeners. For Bill Ackerman, the journey began after two severe winters in a row killed all the camellias in the collection at the US National Arboretum in Washington, DC except one, lone survivor. This surviving plant, named ‘Lu Shan Snow’ in 1994, became the foundation parent for many of the hardiest cultivars available today.

Clifford Park worked through the 60s and 70s in North Carolina to develop a series of cold hardy camellias of his own, called the April series. The ‘April’ camellias will survive temperatures down to -17 degrees Celcius but the flower buds will not survive that extreme temperature.

Cold Hardy Ackerman-Bred Camellias

• ‘Snow Flurry’ – One of the first releases from 1987, this camellia blooms a medium-sized, white flower with a peony or anemone form. Early to late autumn flowers grace the plant that has been known to regularly survive up to -12 degrees Celcius.
• ‘Pink Icicle’ – Released in 1987 as well, this cultivar has ‘Lu Shan Snow’ as a direct parent. The clear, pink blooms are larger than the flowers on ‘Snow Flurry’ and the entire plant is more hardy surviving temperatures of -20 degrees Celcius.
• ‘Winter’s Toughie’ – Released in 2001, this camellia is one of the most winter-hardy camellias to date, surviving temperatures of -26 degrees Celcius. The bright, rosy-pink blooms open in mid-winter and have a double or anemone form.

Cold Hardy Park-Bred Camellias

• ‘April Dawn’ – From 1993, this Park, cold-hardy camellia is very unique in that it has multicolored flower blossoms that appear mid to late spring.
• ‘April Rose’ – Also released in 1993, this is one of the hardiest of the April series and has a rose-red, or dark pink colored flower. The camellia blooms appear mid to late spring and are double-form blossoms. This camellia shrub is also very compact growing and is a more suitable camellia than some of the others for small garden spaces.
• ‘April Blush’ – This camellia blooms in early spring with large, semi-double flowers in a delicate pink shade. The lighter flower tones stand out in an early season garden against the dark, evergreen leaves.

Thanks to two pioneers in camellia cultivation, there are more cold-hardy camellias for cool climate gardens than at any other time in history. Whether looking for double, peony or anemone form flowers, in white, red or multicolored blooms, camellia gardeners and lovers now have more options than ever before.