Camellia japonica
Camellia japonica, beautiful evergreen shrub with profuse flowering, but comes with high maintenance.
| Camellia Japonica | Broad Leaf Evergreen Shrub |
|---|---|
| Bloom Time | Winter to Late Spring |
| Light | Filtered Sunlight |
| Water | Moist Well Drained Soil |
| Diseases | Anthracnose, chanker, leaf spot |
| Pests | Scale, spider mites, leafhoppers, aphids |
| Propagation | Semi-Hardwood cuttings, grafting, layering |
| Color | Pink, Red, White |
| Height | 10-20 feet tall |
| Zones | 7-11 |
| pH Range | 4.5 - 6.5 |
Camellia Japonica - White
The Camellia japonica is a slow-growing, upright to upright spreading shrub. In some climates it because large enough to be classified as a small tree.
Leaves are Oval and glossy. It is considered an evergreen shrub and considered a favorite in southern gardens.
This shrub is available in just about any color you can imagine from pink, red and white or any combination of these.
The Camellia, like many broad-leaf evergreen shrubs is an acid soil lover so plant in it humus-rich soil. Also plan on deep mulching of rotted leaves for optimal performance. In and around oaks and pine trees are preferable.
Make sure the soil remains moist and well-drained. A drip irrigation system would be ideal for this shrub. Also plant the Camellia high in the planting hole with the trunk base well above the parent soil line.
Since this plant is very susceptible to Camellia Pedal Blight, it is recommended that you are vigilante in your sanitation practices. Keep the area around these shrubs picked up or swept and destroyed. Do not return the leaves to the compost pile.
Because there are several types of camellia, in June 1999, the Alabama Legislature agreed to specifically name Camellia japonica as the official State flower.
The Camellia is receptive to semi-hardwood cuttings, grafting or layering propagation techniques.
Take semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer; graft in the very early spring and layer in early winter.
Camellia japonica - Pink
Due to its large size of up to 20' this will become a dominate shrub in your landscape.
This is a very beautiful shrub, with with that beauty comes high maintenance. It is very susceptible to disease and pests.
Spacing: Space 4' to 5' apart when planting
Fertilizer: Use an acidic fertilizer.
Water Requirements: Water daily.
Camellia Japonica
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Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection’: A commonly grown camellia, this long time favorite of gardeners produces a long winter season of perfectly double, pink flowers. An heirloom camellia it has been a southern garden feature for over 150 years.
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C. japonica ‘Adolphe Audusson’: A deep red camellia whose blooms appear earlier in the spring than other cultivars. 15’x12’ shrub.
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C japonica ‘April Dawn’: One of the nicest, semi-double camellia blooms is the pale white and pink variegated flower that appears on this 6’x4’ shrub February through April. An upright, vigorous and cold hardy camellia.
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C. japonica ‘Brilliant’: An amazing upright camellia that grows slowly to 10’ but only a couple feet wide and produces amazing, formal double, blood red flowers that are impressive. Can be hard to find now but is worth tracking down for a small garden space since the spread is so narrow compared to most camellias.
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C. japonica ‘Yuletide’: A popular red, single flower camellia that is often blooming for Christmas, giving it the name. ‘Yuletide’ is a medium sized camellia shrub.
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Camellia hybrida ‘Polar Ice’: A white flowering camellia with 3” flowers that grows 6-8’ tall and is a cold hardy cultivar that can survive to zone 6.
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Camellia oleifera ‘Showa-no-Sakae’: This ruffled blossom camellia can be allowed to grow prostrate on the ground or trained up a wall or fence. This camellia is not as cold hardy and should be well protected south of zone 8 or 7b but the flowers are lovely rose-pink and worth the effort if you can grow them.
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Camellia sasanqua ‘Chansonette Spreading’: This camellia is a low-growing, cascading form camellia that can be easily grown in a container if your soil is not acidic enough. The bright pink camellia blooms look amazing if planted in mass. Only 3’ tall by 6’ wide!
Fertilization techniques for the Camellia japonica are as follows:
Take a soil test to determine the PH of the soil. If one or more nutrients are low, use a specific fertilizer to bring up that level
Avoid fertilizing late in the growing season as application made during that time will force new growth and this new growth will not have sufficient time to harden off before the cold weather season.
Camellia japonica - Pink
Japanese Pieris / Pieris japonica:
This evergreen shrub with dark foliage and fragrant flower clusters is very effective as a landscape accent, mass planting, or combined with azalea and rhododendron.
Leaves turn bronze with cold weather. Adapts to full sun or shade. Prefers acid (sour) to slightly alkaline (sweet) soil. Deer resistant.
