We are delighted to have just taken delivery of an abundance of new stock, in particular, an excellent range of evergreen shrubs, to get us started with the new season! We have forged excellent relations with our suppliers over the years, and we are delighted with the quality, as ever. Our excellent range of evergreen shrubs includes beautiful camellias.
Camellias are evergreen shrubs with glossy green leaves. They produce an abundance of impressive flowers, with colours of red, pink or white. The beauty of camellias is that they flower early in the season when depending upon other plants in your garden; there may not be much else in flower.
Our camellias are ready to burst into their splendid colours and indeed a few are just opening now. We have them as bushes, half standards and standards. Whilst they can be grown very successfully in containers, the half standards look particularly stunning when grown in pots.
There are two groups of camellia – Camellia sasanqua – these flower in the late autumn and through the winter and Camellia japonica and Camellia x willamsii which tend to flower from early spring. We have all varieties in stock.
Choosing your Camellia
If you are considering planting an evergreen shrub such as a camellia, then the following points will help you:
- When would you like your camellia to be in flower? This will determine which group to choose from
- What colour would you like?
- Would you like flowers to be single, semi-double or formal double?
- How much space do you have?
- Would you like to keep it in a pot or plant it in the ground?
- Would you like a shrub, standard or half-standard?
When to Buy
As all of our stock is in containers, they can be purchased at any time of the year. However, in order to be sure you have the right colour, now is the best time to buy and plant your camellia so that you can be sure it is the right colour for your garden.
Where to Plant
Most camellias prefer partial shade. However, Camellia susanqua can tolerate sunnier positions. Always plant in a sheltered position so that they are away from cold winds and early morning sunshine. This is true also if you are planting in a pot.
Watering
Depending upon when you plant your camellia, it should be watered regularly and certainly throughout the summer months as this is when it is producing the flowers for the next season. Always work with your ground conditions and keep on the dry side of moist.
Feeding
Your camellias will benefit from a feed in the early spring with an ericaceous fertiliser.
Ongoing care
Remove the dead flowers when they begin to fade. This keeps your camellia looking fresh, as camellia flowers tend to go brown when they start to die off and will make your plant look untidy.
Pruning
Luckily, camellias do not require regular pruning! If they start to outgrow their space then you can trim it back into shape after it has finished flowering. If you decide to give your camellia a hard prune this, is best carried out in March. However, be mindful that it might take it a couple of years to produce an abundance of flowers again.
As now is an ideal time to consider purchasing a camellia, we shall look forward to welcoming you to our nursery and assisting you with your purchase. Or for another read on evergreen shrubs head to our other blog post.
4th February 2020
