What's Hot Now: Camellias

The beautiful camellia is elegant and for me, quite southern.  Here in the PNW, there are primarily two kinds of ornamental Camellia japonica and C. sasanqua.  Sasanquas have smaller leaves; smaller blooms that arrive in fall, and when the bloom begins to deteriorate, the petals fall of individually.  (He loves me, he loves me not....)

A lovely example of a double.

C. japonicas are what I'm spotlighting.  These are broadleaf evergreens that do best in bright shade or morning sun and afternoon shade.  They don't like the burning all day sun, even though it's the state flower of Alabama.  Japonicas have larger leaves that are shiny on top and a lighter green beneath.  (These shiny leaves are a plus in shady areas, adding brightness with their sheen that isn't often considered in a design.)  Blooms are single (simple open flower) or double (ruffles of petals.)  Different cultivars have different bloom colors and types and growth habits.  I did several drive-by portraits in my neighborhood and the smallest I found was 10' tall.  Japonica blooms fall as a whole flower.  Supposedly, samurais did not like C. japonica because it seemed like a head falling from the plant.

I have three Yuletide camellias, which are C. sasanqua, but I placed them in full shade and I've had one bloom in three years.  Sasanquas are supposed to be more adaptable, liking full sun to full shade conditions, but perhaps my full shade is too full.  I'm moving my three to a brighter area this summer/fall, so either they will start producing or they'll be replaced, perhaps with a nice nandina.