Camellia’s – Planting and care
Camellias are very popular for good reason, they are easy to grow, evergreen, and they have large flowers at a time when not much else is happening in the garden.
Planting
There
are a few different types of camellia available so make sure you
check the species that you are planting. However, as a general rule
they will grow well in most places, prefering
part shade. They can get very big so also bear this in mind. If you
want it to stay small then pick a type that will remain smaller,
don’t assume that you can keep it small by pruning as this will
reduce flowering.
As
with lot of plants, autumn is the best time to plant as the soil will
be warm and moist
They
will grow well in containers if
fed and watered regularly
They
like ericaceous soil so plant with a bag of ericaceous compost to
give it a good start.
Care
Once established they will not need too much care, as mentioned, they do like ericaceous soil so a suitable feed would help. Watering during the dry summer months will also pay off with more flowers in the spring as this is when the buds are developing.
Pruning
Ideally a camellia should not be pruned as it will reduce flowering. If you do need to prune it then do it as soon as the flowering has finished, if you prune at any other time then you will be taking next years buds off and so won’t get many flowers.
If you do need to severely cut back a camellia that has become too big then it is best done just after flowering but it could be a few years before they will flower again.
Facts
- Camellia belongs to the tea family and can be used to make a drink
- Camellias will often produce more flower buds than they can cope with so will drop them through the year
- Camellias can live for up to 200 years old in the wild
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