Camellias!

Camellias - so many beautiful flowers!

What's different about growing camellias in Queensland?

What are Camellias?

Camellias are evergreen shrubs mostly with dark green slightly waxy leaves which flower from Autumn through Winter and then into Spring – depending on species and variety.
QCS members have a lot of knowledge of what performs well in our area. If you join us, we have a monthly journal and meetings with great people 😊

See below for Species descriptions and lovely pictures!

Come and see all these lovely flowers at our Annual Camellia show in early July

Great Plants for South East Qld

There is a Camellia for every position in every garden for every purpose. They are not difficult to grow. They are hardy and relatively trouble free. With a little care, they will give many years of pleasure with their attractive evergreen foliage and beautiful floral displays.
Camellias are known to grow for more than 100 years – the oldest recorded planting that is still living today is in the Panlong Monastry in China – planted in 1347!!
Some species and varieties prefer shade or filtered light, whilst others not only survive in full sun, they flourish, and in fact need sun to perform and flower at their best.

Camellias come from Asia - cool to tropical

QCS members have a lot of knowledge of what performs well in our area.
Contrary to popular belief, Camellias thrive in a wide range of conditions – from the cooler climes around the hills of Sydney and Melbourne to the hot and sometimes humid conditions that we experience in South East Queensland and further north.
What must be remembered is that a particular Camellia variety that does well in cooler areas may not perform as well in a warmer region – and of course the opposite applies.
The best results will come from selecting varieties that are suitable for the area and position.

Types of Camellia Species

Within the Camellia ‘family’ there are many species.
Some species have many varieties.

japonica – ‘Emperor of Russia Variegated’

Camellia Japonica

These prefer some shade to protect the winter borne flowers and to prevent leaves from scorching. Flowers range from around 2 to 5 inches (5 – 15 cm) and come in pure white, cream, palest pink to dark pink, orange reds to purple reds, striped, blotched, edged. The flower form can vary from single, semi double, peony form, anemone form, formal double and rose form double. They flower mid season, starting for us around May through to July, although some early varieties, like Arejishi and Alba Plena, start flowering in April.
Late flowering varieties do not suit warmer weather as the late flowers will burn in the heat, and not open satisfactorily.
Japonicas suit garden plantings as mass plantings, as a single specimen, or in a mixed garden planting. Depending on variety they will grow from 1 to 4 metres. They respond to pruning exceptionally well. Branches of japonica are used extensively in the cut flower industry as a ‘filler’ for flower decorations.

sasanqua – ‘Bert Jones’

Camellia Sasanqua

These start flowering for us from February, for the early varieties, to June and July. They grow happily and flower best in full sun, flower prolifically over a long period. They have a generally smaller leaf than Japonicas – 3 to 5 cms – and dense foliage. Flowers are smaller – ranging from 5 to 9cm – and have a similar colour and form range as japonicas. Sasanqua flowers tend to shatter and fall after a day or two leaving a magnificent carpet of petals. Used extensively as a hedging plant they can also be used as a background or foreground planting (there are varieties that suit both applications), standards and topiaries, espalier or as a single garden plant. Depending on variety, they will grow from 1 to 4/5 metres. They respond exceptionally well to pruning.

reticulata – ‘Lasca Beauty’

Camellia Reticulata

Described by some as the ‘glamour girls’ of Camellias, reticulatas are named for the distinctive veining seen on the leaves and often produce very large and spectacularly coloured flamboyant flowers. They are hardier than most give them credit for and some varieties will perform very well for us. They tolerate a fair amount of sun, and display a rather open and gangly look as young plants. This is more than made up for by their spectacular flowering in winter. Many reticulatas are indeed hybrids – a cross between a reticulata and another species – normally sasanqua or japonica. It is important to choose varieties that suit your particular climatic conditions.

species – ‘Rosiflora’

Other Camellia Species

There are over 180 other species of camellia – and include the tea Camellia – C. sinensis (all the world’s tea – black and green – comes from plantations of Camellia sinensis). Generally, species have smaller leaves and miniature flowers, often scented as in Lutchuensis and Transnokoensis, but sometimes with 4-5 inch leaves and 4 inch flowers and seed pods as big as oranges – like Camellia species Crapnelliana.

hybrid – ‘Alpen Glo’

Hybrids

species – ‘C. sinensis’

Camellia Sinensis - the Tea Camellia

All of the world’s tea comes from plantations of Camellia sinensis – there have been many varieties grown to meet specific climatic conditions and to produce the best leaves for picking to be processed as ‘tea’.

Plant your own tea plantation – black tea or green tea – it all comes from the same leaf – the difference is in the processing. We grow two varieties of the sinensis species – both white and pink flowering – largely for ornamental purposes. The white flowered sinensis that we grow is a variety that has been grown for commercial tea production in Queensland, and which is suitable for making tea, as well as being a very attractive Camellia bush.

Flower Forms (shapes)

There are six accepted and more or less easily recognised flower forms. They are:

Single
Semi-Double
Irregular Semi-Double
Elegans form
Informal double (formerly peony form)
Formal Double

japonica – ‘Tama-no-ura’

Single

A maximum of 8 petals in a single row, with an uninterrupted cluster of stamens.

japonica – ‘Polar Bear’

Semi-Double

Two or more rows of petals, with an uninterrupted cluster of stamens. Petals may overlap or be displayed in rows.

japonica – ‘Carter’s Sunburst Pink’

Irregular Semi-Double

A semi-double with an interrupted cluster of stamens.

japonica – ‘Speciosissima’

Elegans form (formerly anemone)

An informal double with one or more rows of large outer petals lying flat or undulating; the centre a convex mass of intermingled petaloids and stamens.

japonica – ‘Margaret Davis’

Informal-Double (formerly peony)

A double with any number of petals and petaloids, stamens may or may not be visible.

japonica – ‘Black Tie’

Formal Double

Many rows of petals overlapping in a symmetrical form with the centre petals unfurling as the flower opens; no visible stamens.

japonica – ‘Prince Fredrick William’

Another Formal Double

Sometimes formal doubles have their petals in a spiral pattern.

Flowering Times

For the Southern Hemisphere (where we are 😊)
Generally designated as:

Early – March to June (Autumn)
Mid-season – June to August (Winter)
Late – August to October (Winter – Spring)
Flowering times will vary according to distance from the equator. The further from the equator the later the flowering.

These represent the times when the plant is in peak flower – there will often be spot flowering over a longer period. For example, our Sasanqua ‘Bonanza’ spot flowers in December and is in full flower from February to May, Japonica Arejishi spot flowers from March.