Cultivation history.

Native to Japan, China and south-east Asia, camellias were revered (and inspired countless works of art) for the last several thousand years in their home lands. Like so many other Asian trees and shrubs, the Victorians introduced the species, together with many named forms, into Europe through the latter part of the 19th century.

By the early 1920’s though, they had all but disappeared from cultivation, having well and truly fallen from favour.

In large part they were victims of the massively increased cost of maintaining, heating and working those glass-houses, most of which were themselves condemned to demolition.

Post World War 2 there was a gradual revival of interest and as the general gardening fashion moved away from labour-intensive herbaceous plantings towards the more self-sustaining shrubbery, gardeners finally started trying camellias outdoors.

It shouldn’t have come as any great surprise that many of these plants were indeed fully hardy – many grow naturally in climates far more severe than our own – but their exotic flowers and foliage had for far too long seen them separated from their close cousins the Rhododendrons.

Camellias in the garden.

In the wild camellias are all very much understory shrubs – and ultimately small trees – which is to say that they naturally inhabit the dappled shade at the margins and in openings in woodland.

Knowing this simple fact, and then imagining what those natural conditions are like, tells you a few key facts about the conditions that they need to thrive in cultivation – 1) shady, but not dark 2) sheltered from the wind 3) with their roots in (acidic) leaf-litter.

Whilst the most frequently seen camellias are, to all intents and purposes, absolutely bone hardy as plants, the same can’t be said for the flowers themselves, particularly the earliest varieties that open in late winter.

Shelter from wind is pretty vital if those early flowers aren’t to burn off. Similarly, east-facing sites should be avoided since frozen winter flowers will turn to a brown mush if exposed to the rays of the early morning sun.

A westerly or northerly aspect is ideal, and walls, fences or trees and other (later flowering) shrubs can be used to provide additional shelter.

Much is made of camellias being “acid-loving” and even indicator species of acid soil.

In fact they are considerably more tolerant than most Rhododendrons in this regard, and will happily succeed on a neutral as well as an acid soil.

Having a good, open, free draining, humus-rich soil (i.e. emulating what they would have in the wild) is actually far more important than the precise pH.

Where soil conditions are totally inappropriate or un-improvable, camellias also make great container plants. Their relatively slow rate of growth means that, with appropriate watering, feeding and repotting, they can thrive almost indefinitely in pots and their formality and glossy evergreen foliage makes them ideal patio subjects.

With care camellias can be planted out at any time of the year, but early spring, whilst the plants are in flower, in the ideal season. Then the roots will still be dormant and the plants will readily establish into their new homes.

The species.

Thanks to the renewed breeding efforts of the last 50-or-so years there are now a truly vast array of camellias from which the gardener can choose.

There are just over 40 wild species, (including C. sinensis, the plant from which we get tea) but virtually all of the widely grown garden varieties derive from 3 of those species - C. japonica, C. reticulata & C. sasanqua – and their various hybrids.

Camellia japonica.

Certainly the most important and widely grown of all the species, the Japanese camellia has given rise to an extraordinary 30,000 cultivars and forms – the largest by far of any individual species of plant on earth.

The flower forms are classified into 6 types: single, semi-double, anemone, peony, rose double and formal double, with colours ranging from pure white and pale creams through all shades of pink to deep and vivid true reds. With such a large range of selections it’s not surprising that the bloom time varies considerably with different cultivars opening throughout late winter and the whole of spring – something to bear in mind when selecting plants for any given site.

The highly desirable white flowered forms are unfortunately also the most prone to weather damage and should always be planted with extra protection if the blooms aren’t to be regularly spoiled. The equally beautiful deep red flowered japonicas though are much tougher and can take considerably more harsh weather without getting damaged.

Camellia sasanqua.

The plants flower in mid to late autumn, generally well away from any frost danger, and have a similar (if much smaller!) range of flower shapes and colours to their Japonica cousins.

The individual flowers are smaller and more fleeting than that species, but are produced in huge numbers from a very early age.

They also have the great bonus of being fragrant.

Camellia reticulata.

This extremely showy Chinese species has the largest blooms of any camellia, with huge flowers ranging from single to semi-double in shades of white and pink with a few reds.

They are much less hardy than the previous two species though, and, although they bloom later in spring so are less frequently subject to weather damage, the plants themselves definitely require a more sheltered location in order to do well.