Shrub · Theaceae
Camellia
Camellia japonica
Hand it acidic soil, dappled shade, and steady water, and the camellia flowers when almost nothing else bothers to.
Partial shade
Every 5–10 days
USDA 7–9
6–13 ft · 1.8–4 m
Overview
Camellias bring color to the garden right when most shrubs have called it quits for the year. The common or Japanese camellia opens up from late winter into spring, while its sasanqua cousin flowers in fall and early winter, so together they pretty much cover the cold stretch. And behind all those blooms? Thick, glossy evergreen leaves that keep the plant looking good the rest of the year.
This is a slow, long-lived woody shrub, the kind that earns a permanent home in the garden. Over a lot of years it can climb to roughly 6 to 13 feet (1.8 to 4 m) tall, and it's in no rush about it, so it's really a plant you set once and keep. It's hardy in zones 7 to 9, and it leans on acidic, well-drained soil plus a sheltered spot out of harsh sun and drying winter wind.
Here's the thing: a camellia cares about the right setting way more than constant fussing. Get the soil acidic, the light dappled, and the moisture steady, and it mostly takes care of itself. But shove it into alkaline ground or bake it in afternoon sun, and you'll get yellowing leaves and dropped buds instead of flowers.
Care
The short version: partial shade out of hot afternoon sun, acidic and well-drained soil rich in organic matter, and steady moisture through summer, plus a light acid-forming feed in spring and pruning done right after the flowers fade.
Light
Camellias are happiest in partial shade, tucked away from hot afternoon sun. They'll put up with partial sun and even full shade, but a spot with morning light and afternoon cover gives you the best flowers and keeps the leaves from scorching.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but well drained, watering roughly every 5 to 10 days and a bit more in summer heat. Let it dry out while the buds are setting and those buds will just drop. And skip the overhead watering, since wet flowers are an open invitation to petal blight.
Soil
Plant it in acidic, well-drained ground that's rich in organic matter, ideally a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Alkaline soil locks up the iron and yellows the leaves with green veins, so a camellia in the wrong dirt never really hits its stride.
Temperature
It handles a pretty wide range, from about 5°F to 95°F (-15°C to 35°C), which is what zones 7 to 9 are all about. Sharp swings or a hard freeze while buds are forming can still cost you flowers, though, so a sheltered spot pays off.
Humidity
Regular outdoor humidity suits camellias fine, so there's no number to chase here. What matters more is good air movement, because still, damp air is exactly what lets petal blight and leaf gall get going.
Feeding
Feed it lightly in spring with an acid-forming azalea or camellia fertilizer. Don't get carried away, though, because too much scorches the leaf edges and makes the foliage drop.
Pruning
Prune it right after flowering, and save any hard cutting for the window from mid-February through May 1. Pull out dead or weak stems whenever you notice them, and clear away infected and fallen blooms to keep petal blight from spreading.
Repotting
Since a camellia grows slowly and lives a long time, a potted one only needs repotting every 2 to 3 years or once it's clearly rootbound. Use an acidic, well-drained mix, and let roots circling the pot or water running straight through be your cue.
Size & spacing
A mature shrub gets to 6 to 13 feet (1.8 to 4 m) tall and spreads 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 m) wide over time. Give it that room from the start so air can move through the branches and disease has a harder time.
When to plant
Camellias are slow-growing evergreens, so you set one in place and basically leave it for decades. Plant in spring or fall into a sheltered, partly shaded spot, and you can expect japonicas to flower from late winter into spring and sasanquas from fall into early winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring or fall in a sheltered, partially shaded site protected from hot afternoon sun and cold drying winter wind.
- Harvest: Camellia japonica blooms late winter to spring (about February-April); Camellia sasanqua blooms fall to early winter.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–9
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Most camellia troubles show up on the flowers and leaves, and the fungal ones spread through fallen debris. Match what you're seeing to the list below, then clean up under the plant before it gets worse. Honestly, a quick tidy-up does about as much as any spray.
Flowers going brown from the middle, veins darkening
If the browning kicks off near the middle of the flower and the veins go dark in a netted pattern, that's petal blight, a fungus working its way out from the center. Cold damage can look a lot like it, but cold starts at the petal edges, so where does yours begin? Pick off and destroy every infected and fallen bloom, since the spores hang around in the soil for years and drift a long way.
Fix:
- Hand-remove and destroy infected blooms and fallen blossoms promptly
- Rake up and remove fallen petals and debris under the plant
- Replace surface mulch with fresh pathogen-free organic mulch
- Apply a labeled fungicide during bloom as supplementary control
Yellow spots up top, scaly crust down under
Flip a yellow-spotted leaf over and there's a good chance you'll meet tea scale, a little sap-sucker that crusts the underside with brown and white specks while the top goes yellow. Ignore it and it'll thin the flowers and drop leaves over a few generations. Coat those undersides well with horticultural oil, and if the bugs are really piling up, a systemic insecticide steps in.
Fix:
- Apply horticultural oil to thoroughly coat leaf undersides, repeating as needed
- Use insecticidal soap during crawler emergence
- Apply a systemic soil insecticide such as dinotefuran in early spring or fall for heavy infestations
- Prune out and destroy heavily infested branches
Buds dropping off before they ever open
Buds that form and then drop before they ever open? Usually it's uneven moisture, most often a plant that dried out over summer while it was setting those buds. Temperature swings, freezes, poor drainage, and a nutrient shortfall can chip in too. So water steadily through the heat, plant it where afternoon shade takes the edge off, and go with cultivars that bloom in time with your local frost.
Fix:
- Provide consistent soil moisture, especially during summer bud development
- Improve drainage and relocate plants from extreme exposures
- Correct nutrient imbalances based on a soil test
- Choose cultivars suited to the local frost timing
A sooty black film over leaves and twigs
That black film is sooty mold, and here's the good part: it's just growing on the sticky honeydew that scale and aphids leave behind, not on the plant. It wipes right off, and it isn't actually feeding on your camellia. So sort out the bugs making the honeydew, and the mold's got nothing left to grow on.
Fix:
- Control the underlying scale or aphid population producing honeydew
- Wash foliage to remove mold once the insect source is controlled
Puffy, fleshy spring growth turning pale then brown
Spring growth coming in thick, fleshy, and weirdly pale? That's leaf gall, a fungus that really likes the sasanqua types. Turn the puffy leaves over and you'll spot a whitish dusting of spores before the galls firm up and brown. Just snap them off and destroy them before that spore layer shows up.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy young galls before they produce spores
- Apply a labeled fungicide from budbreak through June at 7-14 day intervals for partial protection
Toxicity
Good news if you've got pets: the ornamental camellia is safe. The ASPCA lists the common camellia as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and it doesn't carry anything that'd poison other animals or people. Like any garden plant, it's best not eaten by the handful, but a stray nibble? Nothing to worry about.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
The ASPCA's got the common camellia down as non-toxic to cats, so a curious nibble isn't going to poison one. That said, if a cat really goes to town on any leaf, it might end up with a passing stomach ache.
Dogs None
Your dog can hang out by the shrub and even chew on the leaves without any poisoning risk. The most you'd expect from a big helping is some mild tummy trouble that clears up on its own.
Horses None
It's non-toxic to horses, so if one grazes a leaf, there's really nothing to stress about. You don't need any special handling around a paddock either.
Rabbits None
There's nothing in a camellia that makes it a hazard for rabbits. Still, a lot of rich foliage can upset any small animal's gut, so think of it as a nibble and not a whole meal.
Livestock None
Cattle, goats, and sheep aren't at any known poisoning risk from camellia. Like any ornamental though, it isn't meant for grazing, so it doesn't belong in their feed.
Birds None
Backyard and pet birds can share space with a flowering camellia no problem. The plant doesn't carry anything that'd hurt them if they peck at a leaf or petal.
People None
It's grown for the flowers, not for eating, but it won't poison anyone. There's no reason to keep kids away beyond the usual don't-chew-the-garden-plants rule.
No special toxicity handling is needed; as with any plant, discourage pets and children from chewing ornamental foliage to avoid mild stomach upset.
Varieties
Camellias split first into two species with different bloom seasons, then into named cultivars picked for their flower form and color. Here are the ones worth knowing.
Camellia japonica
The common or Japanese camellia is a slow grower with big glossy leaves and showy late-winter to spring blooms, and it really wants shelter from hot afternoon sun.
Camellia sasanqua
This one grows faster, with smaller leaves and flowers, blooms from fall into early winter, and handles more sun than the japonica does.
Kramer's Supreme
A japonica cultivar that brings big, fragrant, red peony-form blooms.
White by the Gate
A japonica cultivar that's loved for its formal double white flowers.
How to propagate
There are a few ways to make more camellias, though they all take their sweet time. Which one you go with really depends on whether you want an exact copy of a cultivar, or you're playing around with rootstock or breeding.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Take semi-hardwood cuttings of current-season growth in summer. · Several weeks to a few months to root; slow to establish overall.
In summer, take semi-hardwood cuttings from this season's growth and pop them into a well-drained acidic medium, with a bit of rooting hormone to help your chances. They'll root somewhere between several weeks and a few months, and even then the plant's slow to really settle in.
LayeringEasy
Spring through summer. · Several months to over a year for a layered branch to root.
Want the easiest way in? Wound a low branch, pin it down into acidic soil, and let it root while it's still attached to the parent. You can do this anytime from spring through summer, and it'll take several months to over a year for that branch to root.
Air layeringModerate
Spring to summer on healthy stems. · Several months for roots to form before severing.
Air-layering's handy for those bigger stems you just can't bend down to the ground, since you root them right where they are while they stay attached to the parent. Pick healthy stems in spring or summer, and give it several months to root before you cut the new plant free.
GraftingDemanding
Late winter to early spring. · Several months to establish a successful graft union.
Grafting's the tricky one, where you join a choice cultivar onto vigorous rootstock. Do it in late winter to early spring, and allow several months for the graft union to knit together.
SeedModerate
Sow fresh seed in fall after harvest. · Slow; seedlings do not come true to the parent cultivar.
Sow fresh seed in fall once it's ripe, but heads up: seedlings won't match the parent cultivar. It's a slow road that's really more for breeding or rootstock than for copying a named variety.
Myths
That camellia in the yard is the very plant tea comes from.
Nope, tea comes from a different species altogether, Camellia sinensis. The ones in the garden are Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua, grown for their flowers rather than for leaves you'd brew.
Camellias will poison your cat or dog.
Good news here: the ASPCA lists the common camellia (Camellia japonica) as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. A pet that chews a leaf isn't going to get poisoned, though a big mouthful of any foliage can bring on a brief stomach upset.