By Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS Extension Bay County
After summer flowers begin to fade and deciduous plants lose their leaves, our gardens can start to look a little drab and uninviting. If you are looking for a plant to bring some winter interest to your garden, consider adding camellias to your landscape. These evergreen shrubs or small trees keep their foliage all year and grace us with beautiful flowers in the fall or winter depending on type.
There are two primary species of camellias found in the nursery trade, Camellia sasanqua and Camellia japonica. There are some fantastic hybrid camellias available, but for simplicity I will only focus on the two species. Commonalities between these include a preference for acidic soil (pH between 5.0 and 6.5) and part shade. They are very intolerant of being planted too deep, so make sure you plant them slightly above-grade and mulch lightly, avoiding the trunk or crown of the plant.
Camellia japonica
Also known as Japanese Camellia, C. japonica are less tolerant of full sun conditions than sasanqua types. The ideal lighting condition for Japanese Camellias is an area of the garden with partial sun; direct morning sun or high light all day is fine but avoid placing in sites where they will receive midday to afternoon sun for prolonged periods.
Japanese Camellias are known for their winter display of color. Most varieties bloom January – March, but some may start a bit earlier. Flower shapes include single, semi-double, anemone, peony, and formal double. Colors range from pure white to pale yellow and all shades of pink or red, and even a combination of colors. Camellia japonica plants tend to grow quite large, easily reaching 10-15’ tall and wide with some older specimens approaching 25 feet tall! Give these plants room to grow to their potential when placing in the landscape. Large shrubs can also be pruned into a multiple trunk tree form shape if desired.
Camellia sasanqua
Sasanqua camellias also prefer part sun conditions but will do well in full sun if offered supplemental irrigation during dry periods. Leaves, flowers, and plants in general are smaller than C. japonica. A few cultivars such as ‘Shishi Gashira’, ‘Bonanza’, and ‘Mine-no-yuki’ grow in a more horizontal habit than upright, making them a good candidate for foundation plantings or in front of larger shrubs. Other sasanqua cultivars can reach heights of 10-15’. Sasanqua camellia flowers are usually at their peak in the fall, but bloom times range from September to January. Although they can have dense flower shapes like C. japonicas, many varieties have more open flowers with exposed stamens that are visited by honey bees and native pollinators when few other flowers are blooming. As sasanqua flowers fade, the petals drop off individually leaving a carpet of color beneath the shrubs.
If you would like to visit a historic garden with many beautiful camellias, Eden Gardens State Park at the Walton/Bay County line has an incredible collection.
Julie McConnell can be reached at juliebmcconnell@ufl.edu. An Equal Opportunity Institution. UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Nick T. Place, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. Single copies of UF/IFAS Extension publications (excluding 4-H and youth publications) are available free to Florida residents from county UF/IFAS Extension offices.
