Sometimes I hear gardeners lament the lack of winter color in gardens but in the western part of the Pacific Northwest, there should be no complaints. It is difficult to find a plant that can provide more winter color than the Camellia. While most are unscented, it is difficult to think of a winter blooming plant that can provide such diversity. With flower colors ranging from shades of red, pink, cream, and white, as well as many that are variegated and with blooms that can be single or double, the choices are vast. Plus, a big benefit to gardeners is that they are easy to grow.
Due to their diversity, it should come as no surprise that Camellias have different blooming periods depending on the particular type. With the winter season upon us, I am going to focus on Camellia sasanqua which are generally winter bloomers. A few of these Camellias will be highlighted but a visit to your local garden center will provide an idea of what is locally available.
While there are some very large Camellias in older established neighborhoods that are planted with no sun protection, I think they perform best with some shade, especially protection from the hot afternoon sun. Planting in a location with morning sun or filtered sunlight from trees is ideal. Some plants can grow into quite large shrubs so be sure to check the plant label as to height and width.
Camellias like to be planted in a soil that is moist and well-draining. Black Gold® Natural & Organic Cocoblend Potting Mix would be an ideal potting mix to work into the soil at time of planting. The coir, (coconut fiber) in this mix has excellent high water holding capacity qualities. Generally, Camellias are not deep-rooted plants and a yearly addition of a top dressing around the plant with Black Gold® Natural & Organic Garden Compost Blend would be a benefit.
There are many selections of Camellia sasanqua to choose from and I’ll mention several that I have grown or know friends that have. This season seems to have been and continues to be an extremely prolific blooming year.
Yuletide is a Camellia sasanqua, so named because it is usually at bloom during the Christmas season with red single flowers. It is one of the most popular of the winter blooming camellias. Yuletide’ also makes an excellent container plant and having one at an entryway can brighten a gloomy winter day. To add even more color, try planting white pansies around the base.
Showing off the diversity in flowers, a popular Camellia sasanqua that is multi-colored is ‘Yume’. This has single pink and white petaled flowers, each petal is either pink or white. It has a long winter flowering season with blooms appearing in November and continuing until March.
Another popular one and with a name that makes me smile is Camellia sasanqua ‘Pink-A-Boo’. This camellia, unlike most, has fragrant flowers. The pink flowers have bright yellow stamens and typical glossy, dark green foliage. A friend has had this growing in his garden for about ten years and it is about five feet in height and provides a nice ‘pop’ of winter color amongst other evergreen shrubs.
About Mike Darcy