Camellias for sale – hundreds of them

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Our garden and nursery is open to the public again this weekend – 30 and 31 May 8.00 to 3.00 pm

We have had sasanqua camellias flowering since March and we have had lots of visitors to see them in the garden and to purchase some for theirs. A great time to see these lovely things in full flower. Sasanquas will flower for another couple of weeks at least. If you want to see them, then now’s the time.

And now the japonicas have started to flower – they have been spot flowering for a couple of weeks, but this weekend we have some beautiful flowers out.

Some flowers we picked from the garden this morning.

Nursery Open to the Public Saturday 25 October – and a bit of camellia culture

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What Beautiful weather – all we need now is a week of good soaking rain….Following last weekend’s open days, we will again be open this Saturday 25 October – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm.

We have several hundred camellias – sasanquas, japonicas, hybrids and some species – about 175 different varieties – there is sure to be something that appeals.

All our available plants are in 140mm pots, 9 to 12 months old with well developed roots. Plants are between 20 and 90 cm, depending on the natural development of that particular variety. These plants are putting on their new season growth now and are just itching for a new home. Now is a great time for planting – although last month would have been better – but we covered that in the last blog.

We hope that you will visit if you are needing camellias.

A bit of camellia culture.
We are requested on a regular basis, what is the best camellia camellias for growing in the ‘Brisbane’ area – as an example. Let’s start by saying that all the 40 or 50 varieties of sasanquas that we grow suit local conditions. All sasanquas perform and flower at their best in full sun, although they will take a part shade position with easy. Sasanquas are the autumn flowering ones – starting to flower in March/April – Mikuni-ko starts even earlier – and going through to July for the late flowering ones like Bert Jones. So any sasanqua will suit the Brisbane region and most regions from Maryborough to Hobart and in between. Just remember the basic needs of a well drained, acid soil, and sufficient water to get them established for a start. There are a few sasanquas that give us grief and they include Betsy Baker and Pink Frills (a beautiful flower but a poor shrub). Selection will ofter depend on flower form and height and shape of bush you are after, whether a specimen, a group planting, or planting for a screen or hedge, or for a specific effect like a ‘Japanese’ style garden.

Japonicas are less easy to categorise – but start with the same well drained and acid soil, and part shade. Plant in full sun in this area and the plants will generally struggle to thrive as they are suffering sunburn at a time when the roots are yet to establish sufficiently to support the plant. So, part shade, and we prefer morning shade – especially on the formal double flowers that will burn in the sun – and after all, it is the beautiful flowers we hang out for.

Pick you spot, check the soil, follow the basic rules for planting as we have covered before, water and mulch. Do NOT over fertilise.

Any questions, just ask…

So, get out in the garden this weekend, get some sun – it is said that we are all becoming vitamin D deficient because of our sun aversion – and enjoy spring.

Cheers

Camellia Reticulata - Lady Pamela

Camellia sales – open this weekend

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We are open again this weekend – 8.00am to 3.00pm.
Here is our schedule for the next few weeks:

Saturday and Sunday 24 and 25 May – open
Saturday and Sunday 31 May and 1 June – open
Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8 June – open
We will also be at the Maleny Showgrounds for the Maleny Garden Club ‘Gardening on the Edge’ weekend
Saturday and Sunday 14 and 15 June – open
Saturday 21 June – open
Sunday 22 June – closed
Saturday 28 June – open
Sunday 29 June – closed
Sunday 29 June – Queensland Camellia Society Annual Show and Bloom Competition – Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, Richard Randall Studio. Camellia plants for sale on site.
Saturday and Sunday 5 and 6 July – open
Saturday and Sunday 12 and 13 July – Nursery Closed
Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July – Nambour Showgrounds – Qld Garden Expo. Best garden show in Australia. www.qldgardenexpo.com
Saturday and Sunday 19 and 20 July – open
Saturday 26 July – open
Sunday 27 July – closed

Then by appointment on weekends

Saturday 16 August – Qld Camellia Society Camellia Workshop – Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, Auditorium. Demonstration on all things camellia; cuttings, grafting, potting, pruning, growing in pots, general care. Afternoon tea on sale. Plants for sale.

Candy Flame

Open Days – Open to the Public

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Today has got to be one of the most miserable days we have enjoyed for some time – cold (well for us anyway), wet and dreary. But the plants will love the rain and it is a day we don’t have to irrigate.

Notwithstanding the weather, we will be open to the public this weekend Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm.

Saturday 29 June we will be here as well, but Sunday 30 June, we will be at the Queensland Camellia Society display at the Brisbane Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens – and we will have plants for sale there. www.camelliasqld.org.au

And then, the weekend after – 5, 6, and 7 July – we will be at the Queensland Garden Expo in Nambour – Showgrounds – best garden show in Australia. Come and see us there. www.qldgardenexpo.com.au

Camellia Nursery open to the Public 1 and 2 June – camellias and vireyas for sale

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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!

What a difference a week makes!

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What a difference a week makes. We are open to the public again this weekend – Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm.

Last weekend, we were open; the sasanquas were still flowering well and we had a nice bunch of japonicas – but today as I was mowing – wow – the japonicas have decided to party! Still lots of sasanquas in full flower – the early ones starting to finish but still lots of colour for a few weeks yet – and the early japonicas like Arejishi, Alba Plena which we have mentioned in earlier blogs and Takanini with its dark burgundy flowers have been joined by a hundred or more more.

Drama Girl, a favourite for many and Easter Morn, which rarely flowers for Easter, are among the many to have their first flowers for the season.

Drama Girl

Easter Morn

We have lots of plants to sell; sasanquas, japonicas, hybrids, miniatures, fragrant ones, a small number of small reticulatas – but about 200 different varieties and a few thousand plants. We also have a nice range of vireya rhododendron, not huge numbers but a few varieties that are a bit different and a few of the oldies but goodies.

Come for a drive, wander the garden – just ignore the weeds – I do – so much to do and so little time – and have a look at these beautiful flowers as they come into their flowering season.

Camellia culture – we assume sometimes that most folk know about camellias, which ones to choose for where etc. But of course, we all need to be reminded every now and then. So…

Sasanquas – the sun camellias – flower earliest starting in February (Australia) – late summer and then into autumn. All sasanquas take full sun and in our view, perform best in a full sun position. They will grow and flower in a part shade position, but their strong suit is their sun hardiness. They have smaller leaves than the japonicas, flower profusely with the flowers shattering leaving a carpet of petals around the bush. When flowering is finished – early winter – around June for us here on the Sunshine Coast – sasanquas can be trimmed, pruned, and shaped. They take to being pruned very well and make the best hedges and screens.

Treated like sasanquas, but really vernalis which is a bit of a sas/jap cross – Star Above Star, Egao, and one of my favourites, Shibori Egao, the variegated one, also handle full sun, have a flower that hangs on the bush (better that the sasanquas and a bit more like the japonicas) and flowers later than the sas and earlier than japs. Great garden plants and can also be used for screening – and great flowers.

Japonicas – bigger leaves, dark glossy green, flowers start – well now – from April and continue through to August – that’s all through winter – and have the most beautiful range of flower colours, forms, size and blooms can last for days in a float bowl or on the bush. By August/September, our weather has warmed up and the sun quite strong so later flowering japonicas just do not suit us. Of course, this is a different story in cooler areas where the season can be quite a bit longer. Japonicas need part shade – our sun in SE Queensland is still strong enough to burn blooms – particularly the early morning sun on the dew on the flowers – and particularly on formal double flowers. Arejishi seems to be one of the exceptions, and there are others, that are not so bothered by the sun. A rule of thumb is that most reds handle more sun with the whites needing more shade.

There are more notes in the web site under ‘Camellia Care and Culture Notes’.

Get your hands dirty this weekend – plant a plant – better, plant a camellia…. and enjoy.

Alba Plena with froggie

Vireya Rhododendron - Ivory Coast

Camellia Glen – open Saturday 11 May 2013

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We are not open Sunday – Mothers’ Day – but we are on Saturday. 8.00 am to 3.00 pm. Lots of camellias to look at and lots for sale – over 200 different varieties. The sasanquas are still in flower with the early varieties like Mikuni-ko just about finished after almost 3 months, the mid season ones in full flower and the late varieties just coming into flower.

And then the japonicas are starting to get serious – the early flowerers like Alba Plena, Arejishi, Takanini still going, Tama No Ura showing lots and lots of flowers as are Grape Soda and Carters Sunburst, and its ‘pink’ sport, Carters Sunburst Pink and I spied a couple of blooms on Mrs D.W. Davis Descanso. But then, with 300 in the garden, you’ve got to be unlucky not to see a bunch of camellias in flower at this time of the year. We should be able to pick 30 or 40 blooms for our display.

We continue to do mail order for those who can’t get to us. Just email your wish list and we will see if we can help.

The 35 new reticulatas we planted out recently are all doing well with flower buds on many and some still putting on new growth – a hangover from the crazy seasons we have had in summer and autumn.

Anyway, as the days get cooler, we will see more and more flowers. Look forward to seeing some of you tomorrow. We will be open again for the weekends 18 & 19 May and Saturday only 25 May.

Keep in mind Gardening on the Edge in Maleny over the weekend 8 & 9 June and then the Queensland Garden Expo in Nambour 5, 6 & 7 July. www.qldgardenexpo.com.au

C. Japonica Grape Soda

We also have small numbers of Vireya rhododendron available for sale as well – and there is always one of those flowering.

Vireya rhododendron Haloed Gold

Camellias for sale – sasanqua, japonica, hybrids, reticulata and species – this weekend

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Just a reminder that we have over 200 different varieties of camellia available for sale and we are open this weekend starting 8.00 am and closing at 3.00 pm.

Drop in and see the sasanquas flowering and the early japonicas starting to flower.

C. japonica - Grape Soda - the bee is ours