Camellia

If there is a single plant which deserves placing in the limelight again it's Camellia! For years, Camellia have been incorrectly presented as indoor-plants. If there's anywhere they don't like, it's indoors! Just like Rhododendron, they prefer cool, moist conditions. The reason they have a difficult reputation is because:
- small plants are not yet hardy and so freeze if not adequately protected;
- they are sensitive to their location and must be protected against wind;
- the really hardy varieties are inadequately represented in Holland and are often unnecessarily expensive.

The diversity of flower type and colours is also inadequately represented in our country. Time for change! Why should we deny ourselfes the richness of flowering that Camellias can offer? Camellias can also be happy planted out. In mild winters they will begin to flower as early as November. The main flowering period is generally a full month to two months before that of Rhododendrons. Our hunger for the first glimpse of colour in early spring can be satisfied! After an average winter most plants flower well, but a severe winter will often damage buds and sometimes branches. This is something we also know from Rhododendrons, so it shouldn't put us off trying Camellias. In Great Britain, where these marvellous plants are more frequently to be found in gardens than here, occasional frost damage occurs to Camellias too. To my knowledge there are no old collection-gardens here such as are found in England. We have a lot of testing work to do, since obviously our climate differs from that of England. I have now been working at this for about 12 years, which isn't really very long. Nevertheless, by trial and error I have learnt the main lessons. For example, I know that planting Camellias complete with pot often gives bad results, even if drainage is good. Also, I know that hardiness estimates from books do not always correlate with my own experiences. In some English books, hardy means 'tolerant of sun and wind' - something completely different to our interpretation of the word!

It's notable that frequently the plant is incorrectly named, particularly by the general plant trade. There are uncountable identical varieties available under a plethora of different names! Another fact we already know of Rhodo's; every year we get more of the same variety sold under a new name! It would be a good thing if somewhere a reference collection were established, but that's asking a lot of the impoverished botanical gardens in our otherwise rich country, and I don't expect it to happen.

Cultural requirements

Camellias have the same soil requirements as Rhododendrons: pH5-6, with plenty of humus and well-drained. It's fine to give them a little organic fertiliser in the spring after they have flowered. Make sure of a mulch of straw or equivalent. In the summer it's important to ensure that the ground doesn't get too dry, because then the buds will drop off prematurely.

Strong camellias

A summary of strong Camellias is handy; here's a list of those which survived our extremely severe winter of 1996/97: Miyako Dori (reached about 175cm - 4.5 feet high without extra protection) with Magnoila-like white flowers Lavinia Maggi: (about the same height) with full white flowers with pink stripes, without extra protection Spring Festival: was around 100cm - 40" high then but is now more than 3 meters (9 feet) high, with small rose form pink flowers. It was protected by fleece blanket at the time, but is actually otherwise in an unprotected position. A highly recommended variety! This species, incidentally, has been reported to be only moderately frost tolerant in the Netherlands. These last plants are situated under and old oak tree, the first against the wall of a shed. I generally use a 15cm deep layer of wood shavings to protect my plants in the winter.

Camellias which have already proven themselfes in our country are: Adolphe Audusson, Alba Simplex, Blood of China, Elegans, Eximia, Guilio Nuccio, Hatsu Warai, Hino Maru, Hiodoshi, Inspiration, Juryï¿½s Yellow, Masayoshi, Oki No Nami, R.L. Wheeler en de botanische soorten C. oleifera, C. cuspidata, C. sasanqua, C. saluenensis en C. japonica.

But be aware that, fully exposed to strong wind and winter-sun no species is fully hardy!

New Species of Camellia

New Camelia crosses, originating from the United States, where cold fronts sometimes penetrate to deep in the Southern States, are offering possible improvements to our assortment. One species, Camellia oleifera 'Lu Shan' is apparently able to withstand -24C! I have seedlings of this plant. It is an autumn bloomer with a few, scented cream-white flowers. Also of interest are crosses of this plant with Camellia sasanqua, of which I am also testing seedlings. The most beautiful shrubs are now appearing in the garden, and have been flowering since october. The Ackerman hybrids are also being tested; 'Winter's Interlude' (a ground-cover plant) and 'Winter Joy' (a hedge-camelia) appear to be great new acquisitions. They can both tolerate -20C of frost. We also have 'Snow Flurry', which can bloom as early as september.

Other new camelias

C. sinensis "Korea", a very hardy tea-species, develops quickly into broad shrubs. C. chekiangoleosa, related to C. japonica but apparently it has a striking orange-coloured flower. It grows vigourously. C. edithae has furry leaves and formal pink flowers. We are often asked for yellow Camellias; 'Brushfields Yellow' has a creamy-yellow colour, but in open situations the flowers quickly become brown. 'Dahlonega' is a better choice, I find. There are no really hardy Camelias with good, yellow flowers such as C. chrysantha.