I'm growing one Camellia Japonica and two Camellia Sasanquas. I personally don't like either one. The Camellia Japonica had lots of buds last year but they failed to open and most died on the branch. The year prior to that I had maybe one or two blooms and the same thing happened with the remainder of the buds. This year was a better year because I had about five big beautiful blooms. The only thing I like about this plant is that the leaves are glossy and it's an evergreen.

I haven't enjoyed the Camellia Sasanquas either. I bought them at my local Home D. and one was mislabeled. I found this out after I had waited patiently for the buds to open. One plant had white blooms and the other plant had (?). I think the blooms were pink. I was terribly disappointed. This year only one of the Sasanquas bloomed. The other had no buds whatsoever. Another reason I don't like Sasanquas is because, in my yard, the blooms attract these awful bee-looking things and they cover the Sasanquas the entire time they are in bloom.

I plan to replace the Sasanquas when I find something else I like. I have two Cleyera Japonicas that are really beautiful. I'm considering replacing the Sasanquas with the C. Japonicas and just keep them pruned to a desired shape.

I'm sorry my experience with Camellias has not been as pleasant as yours. I'm sure it's something I'm doing inappropriately or my soil or both : )

Hey, that's okay -- just send me your camellias when you get rid of them!

I really like camellias too. We only have two at present though. We got both of them at True Blue Nursery south of Myrtle Beach(along with fatsia, daphne, oleander, and various palms over the years............its a cool place;^)

Bec fell in love with the one that we got last year, its a pink double, cant remember the name though. The other has lived here for two years now and is named Tama No Ura. Its a red with a really cool white edge............OK, I just googled it and there are some nice pics of it if you want to see what it looks like. We have some pics on the computer here but its to late and Im too lazy.

Good night all,

Oooo, I looked at the Tama No Ura. Very beautiful! I'd love to get some cuttings sometime. Keep me in mind!

And how's your daphne doing? I've got 'Carol Mackie' and D. odora aureomarginata (uhhh..I think that's the name....). I'm afraid Carol isn't doing so hot this spring, but she's hanging in there. The odora seems to be doing well, and was covered in blooms this spring. I love them too!

I have never had luck with camellias here. So, I quit trying. Don't have luck with roses or azaleas either.

We had lots of camellias where I grew up in Va. They lined one side of the house. They were huge by the time we left. Ah..... I guess I will just have to live off the memories.

Ladybug, I forget (if you mentioned it previously) -- what part of TN are you in? Are you over by Memphis?

Daphne is doing great. It sat outside against the house all winter unprotected, once it was planted it bloomed like crazy and put on a flush of new growth. Sounds good and hardy to me.

Doug

What kind is yours?

I am down in the Chattanooga-Cleveland area. I think the problem where I live is that the soil is not the right PH and there is a lot of clay. I could dig out and put in soil that would be more compatible, but digging through all the rocks..... We are up on a little bit of a rise (a creek runs about 80 feet from the house, and right behind the house is a big hill. So, there is a lot of rock on this little rise. I know I could spray with something to acidify the soil, but that is tooo much trouble in my book. I want to plant it and forget it as much as possible.

I keep thinking that one of these days we are going to have to do some major repair renovations on the house (including doing something with the foundation). When that happens we will be putting in some new soil too. Maybe then something like a camellia or even an azalea will be okay here. Got to have something to look forward too.

If you're really interested, you could also try growing them in containers. All of my camellias are in large pots. :-)

I just bought a Herme Camellia from ForestFarm.com -- it's thin and only about 12-18" tall. What is the growth rate on these? I'll have them on a drip system for the summer.

Hiya --

Unfortunately, I can't tell you! My Herme cuttings did fine until early spring of 07 -- then they croaked. :-(

I have several other camellias that are still doing quite well. I guess I'd say they have a reasonable but not startling growth rate. That probably doesn't help you much!

I love camellias! I had them in my wedding bouquet. They were so fragrant and lovely, a creamy white with unforgettable fragrance. They were bigger stars than all the roses. I tried to grow some years ago with absolutely no luck. I do not remember the variety. I would try them again if I ran across a mega deal. I would definitely do research on the conditions they like because I killed them big time on the first try. Rhonda

Hi Ladybug --

You are probably thinking of gardenias. They are creamy white and have one of the best fragrances in the whole world. And they can also be quite finicky to grow!

Yes, that would be what I was thinking of. Incredible fragrance! I did kill camellias though.

Update:

Here is my Camellia Japonica as of today. I only have one Japonica and two Sansanquas.

Another update:

I do love Camellias! I still have the three I mentioned previously. I am writing today to ask about "volunteers." I have many seedlings growing below my Camellia Sasanquas and wanted to ask for help with transplanting.

The bed my Camellias are in receive dappled sunlight. However, the remainder of my property receives full sunlight all day, which is terrific. But not terrific for Camellias, right?

My questions are, do you think planting Camellias in full sunlight would work? Also, has anyone had success with the volunteers/seedlings? Any and all tips wanted in growing volunteers.

TIA

This post was edited by flowermum on Fri, Nov 1, 13 at 8:07

Didn't realize this thread was so old at first. Excited to see others that love camellias as much as I do. I did use camellias as table arrangements in my February wedding in thomasville ga. Camellias grow like trees down there! I love their glossy evergreen foliage and their blooms during a time of year when little else is flowering. They are a little more challenging to grow in TN but I think worth the attempts. I have chosen varieties that are more cold hardy and old standbys such as Yuletide, Pink Perfection, Jack's, Winter Snowman, Rebel Yell and a couple more I can't remember now. I've only had them a couple years this being the second season. The Yuletide was blooming a few weeks ago when we had the hard freeze and the flowers were burned. I'm hoping for more that will be fine. The Winter snowman is blooming. One part is pink but the rest is blooming white. I am happy to see the white blooms on the larger part of the bush. The plants are young and not the magnificent examples from South Georgia but I am happy with watching their development and hoping for grand results in the coming years.

I live outside Charlottesville , Virginia.
When I built my house, I planted a Winter's Snowman
On each side of the entrance. Unfortunately for
the placement they have grown much too
large. I prune off most of the new growth
Each year but they are still 10 feet tall
and 10 feet wide. They are on the south side
of the house in full sun. They bloom prolifically.

I want to move them by it 's going to be
a huge job. So for now I keep pruning.

I have a very large 10'x 8' Lady Vansittart
that is spectacular on the east side of the house.
It has very beautiful leaves and tri-colored
blooms. It is very vigorous and hardy for
a Japonica.
I am planting seedlings from this Camellia
out in the yard in the spring.

Camellia Japonica 'Lady Vansittart'

November: Leaves and Buds

I love camellias, as well, but mine hasn't bloomed since I got it (years ago). It forms buds, but they never do anything.

Well this will be a harsh test for my Camellias tonight. With temps supposed to be at 4 degrees or lower, I am very concerned for my young plants. They've been in the ground between 1-2 years. With so many days with the temp in the teens or single digits can they survive? I'm not able to put black plastic over them and am not sure if anything would really help. What is anyone else doing? Suggestions?

Good thing you couldn't do the black plastic! That could have been worse on them than leaving them as-is. If you want to wrap plants, do it in such a way that they can breath. Such coverings don't usually make a lot of difference, but could protect down another few degrees in borderline conditions. With less hardy plants, you're gonna have to do more, like covering them up with hay or leaves. My 'nanner is on its own. Its well established, so I'll hope for the best.

So glad to hear your view. Read about the black plastic on a web page for a well known Georgia Gardener. But I really am a proponent of growing (mostly) plants that will survive the conditions. This is extreme weather, and if I loose some, hopefully not all, I will still have to have a few of these beauties. I am buying varieties that are most cold hardy.

Most all of the varieties sold here in TN are zone 7 hardy or greater, so I doubt that were many fatalities a few weeks ago. The only exceptions I can think of is if you live on the plateau or northeast TN in the tri - cities area or if you had one of the more deep south varieties that are zone 8.