Don't believe everything you read regarding camellias indoors

18 years ago

I'm on about my third or so camellia indoors, and but for a probelm with squirrels eating the buds in summer, and sometimes overwatering (which will kill them) they do great in my house and I get blooms every winter. I give them bright light 70+ degree temperatures, and I have good humidity in my more humid than average northern home in Michigan. The biggest problem for me is lack of space, and should they do well, they do get a bit too large for small homes, but nobody in the north need deprive themselves of the beauty of "indoor" camellias. I've not tried them outdoors with my zone 5-6 winters, and most likely they'd not do well without tons of extra protection, and even the newer cold hardy varieties might be difficult to keep alive in our sometimes -20 F tempertures.

Comments (6)

JoeStewart25
18 years ago
I overwinter my C japonica in my unheated garage under lights. It goes bak outside innlate March and bloom in April. I've had for about 7 years now. Joe
birdinthepalm
Original Author
18 years ago
I just wish I had such a place for mine in the winter , so I could let them get much bigger in larger pots over time.
My house is a bit warm by camellia's winter temperature standards, but with my good humidity they don't seem to mind at all , though they do form buds mighty early each year, which seem to lay dormant all summer. Funny they don't bloom even in summer with the early budding, but they never have, and often the darn squirrels eat them off before they have a chance to bloom. Mine goes in a very sunny south window in the winter and seems to love that!!
I guess my approach however, would be closer to a bonsai technique with mine since I need to keep them somewhat small for my very limited indoor space.
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yellowthumb
18 years ago
Hi Joe,

I am going to put my Camellia into my unheated Garage as well. What kind of growth light you are using? I have a 400W Metal Halide, I think it may be too strong for just about several degrees tempreature.

Thanks

Tao
FrozeBudd_z3/4
18 years ago
Tao, I'm not sure that a dormant camellia would require alot of extra light during the winter ... as long as there is a window or two in your garage it should be fine.

Terry
Embothrium
18 years ago
Long recommended for the cool greenhouse or conservatory, where they appreciate the shelter.
TT, zone 5b MA
13 years ago
Hi -

I was reconsidering how I treat my Camellia sinensis bonsai over the winter. For the past two seasons, I have kept it in a bright sunroom with other plants. There are skylights and HID lights in this room, and temps range from 60s during the day down to 50 or so at night during the coldest part of winter.

My concern is that this environment does not provide a deep enough dormancy for this plant. The tree seemed a bit sluggish at the beginning of the growing season this year...some yellowing leaves...and it did not kick in to real growth until later in the summer. It now seems to be fine.

I can keep it in my unheated garage this winter, along with some other plants (pomegranate, pine, and some other bonsai and succulents) but there is very little light. Temps in there will go no lower than 40 usually.

So, would this be better for the health of the tree? If camellia is dormant, does it care about how much light it gets?

Thank you for any advice...

Tom