Winter-Blooming Camellias

While most blossoms are quiet for the winter, Camellia japonica has waited out the long, warm season to shout out her brilliance. One minute, she has tight buds on her branches, and then she’s out with a bang. Thick-petaled, perfectly shaped, the flowers burst forth and sit elegantly for weeks in the garden.

Plant winter-blooming camellias in odd numbers in a border, or perennial bed for remarkable color in winter. The dense shrub with its glossy leaves are a beautiful evergreen canvas for flowers during the rest of the year.

This elegant shrub, or tree, grows 10 – 20 feet tall and 3 – 10 feet wide, with most falling between 6 – 12 feet tall. Camellia japonica, with its exceptional flowers, is a class act that does well in borders, as a specimen plant, or in containers.

Meet Camellia Japonica

Camellia has over 250 species, and hundreds of cultivars to choose from.The species is defined as early (before January 1st), mid (January 1st – March 1st), and late (after march 1st) season bloomers. Camellia japonica is a mid to late season bloomer. It’s perfect for the yard that is mostly devoid of color during the darkest time of the year.

Because camellias are usually permanent, it’s a good idea to place the plant still in its original pot in the spot you would like it to be planted for a couple of weeks. Watch how it responds, and look for sunburn on leaves.

• Zones 4-9, 12, 14-24
• Camellias are native to China, Japan, and Korea
• Blooms from winter to early spring. Depending on the variety, you can expect flowers anywhere from January 1st – April.
• Flowers can be single, in pairs, or clustered depending on the variety.
• Foliage is dense, bold, and glossy.
• Camellias rarely carry a fragrance.
• Blossoms are perfect for cutting, exhibiting, and floating.

Growing Camellia Japonica

• The camellia likes rich, well-drained, acidic, and organic soil. Coffee grounds are very appreciated.
• Enjoys filtered, bright light.
• Prefers protection from strong wind, and hot sun. Good places are by a wall, fence, over-hang, and bigger trees.
• C. japonica likes to be fed a well-balanced fertilizer in the midspring and again in early summer.
• Likes the soil evenly moist, but can do with less watering in the winter.
• Maintain a 2″ thick mulch on the soil surrounding the roots of the camellia, being careful to keep mulch away from the base of the shrub. Shredded bark, or leaf mold work well.
• If C.japonica is in a zone with heavy winters, protect roots with straw placed around the base of plants.
• The shrub likes to be planted with the base of the trunk just above soil level.
• Prune right after flowering or in the summer for a strong show next season.

Propagation

From mid summer to late winter, camellias can be propagated with cuttings from the current year’s growth. Grafting or air-layering can be done in late spring.

Flower Forms

There are six six camellia flower forms as defined by the American Camellia Society. They are:

1. Single – A single layer, up to eight petals.
2. Semidouble – Two or more rows of regular, or irregular petals.
3. Anemone – One or more rows of petals surrounding a mound of intermingled petaliods.
4. Peony – Petals mounded to nearly a ball-shape.
5. Rose-form double – Multiple layers of regularly over-lapping petals revealing a central cluster of stamens.
6. Formal double – Multiple layers of petals that never show the stamens even when fully opened.

Some Camellia Japonica Varieties

• C.M.Wilson – pink, anemone form flower, blooms in early to mid season.
• Purity – white, double form flower, blooms in late season.
• Debutante – pink, peony form, blooms in early to mid season.
• Mrs. D.W. Davis – palest pink, big, anemone form, blooms in midseason.
• Nuccio’s Bella Rosa – crimson, formal blossoms, blooms in early to midseason.
• Swan Lake- white, formal double to peony form, blooms in mid to late season.
• Mrs. Charles Cobb – deep red, semidouble to peony form, blooms in mid to late season.
• Daikagura – red, peony form, blooms in early to late season.
• Pearl Maxwell – pink, formal double form, blooms in mid to late season.
• Tomorrow – strawberry red, semidouble to peony form, blooms in early to midseason.

Between the incredible variety and the reliable performance of this classic beauty, one can see why camellias have been prized for centuries in China and Japan.

Interested in more blooms around the house for winter? Check out Forcing Branches to Bloom Early Indoors.