8.00 am to 3.00 pm – Saturday and Sunday – we will be open again to the public. Thousands of camellias – spread over 200 different varieties – sasanquas for the sun; japonicas, hybrids, species for part shade spots. Come and visit, walk the garden – yes it is a bit wet and I haven’t been able to mow, but look at the flowers not the weeds. Then buy some beautiful camellias – and vireya rhododendrons…..
And now a little more camellia culture – pruning.
Camellias all take to being pruned and shaped. Sasanquas are used to make tall and short hedges or screens. In our garden, we have some camellias to 4 metres – but we also have some that we keep trimmed so that they stay about 1.5 to 2 metres, and others that we are keeping to less than 1 metre. So there are camellias for each different application. Talk to us about your camellia needs and we will offer you a solution.
Prune at the start of spring, after the plant has flowered but before it starts to put on new growth. It is hard to prune off new growth – psychologically at least. A trim once in spring and perhaps another later for shape – this will control your camellias. Don’t prune hard after January – mid-summer – you will cut off a lot of the flowers for next season.
Japonicas can be pruned too, just run the hedge shears over the top to keep plants to a manageable size – to the size you want.
Feed your plants in spring as well – a good camellia food will do the job. Underfeed rather than chuck on too much.
Have a good weekend – hope to see you here!
Hello,
I am seeking to buy 1 possibly 2 Camellia Japonica “Niccio’s Gem”.
Or, perhaps a similar double white (if they exist as C.Susanquas).
Plant location – outdoor, shade 80%. How long could one exist indoors in a tub for an exhibition? The choice of either might have to be dependant on an available site considering the shade/sun exposure.
Looking forward to your reply,
Mick Bright
Mick, we certainly have Nuccios Gem available for sale. Like most of our current stock, these are new season plants in 140mm pots with the plants about 30cm out of the pot. There are a few formal double whites which we have available including Pope John XXIII, Paolina Maggi, Alba Plena, Blushing Beauty (which has a blush of pink), Margarete Hertrich..
In our weather here, our recommendation is that these formal double white japonicas must have almost complete shade in early morning. Our morning sun is still strong in winter and will burn the buds resulting in the buds failing to open. You could bring a potted specimen indoors for a day or two – not that we have ever tried it – but I would not expose the plant and flowers to a heated environment. Picked blooms will last for days and up to a week in a float bowl.
On sasanquas, all sasanquas can take full sun, will handle part sun and part shade, and in our opinion flower at their best in a sunny position.
Trust this is of some help.
Cheers
Darryl
Camellia Glen