Chapter 80 Camellia spp.
80.1 Camellias
Three species are important:
- Spring or Japanese camellia (C. japonica)
- Fall or Sasanqua camellia (C. sasanqua)
- Tea or Chinese camellia (C. sinensis)
A spring-blooming Japanese camellia. Link to original image
80.2 Soil: Ericaceous Mix
Ratio: 3 parts bark, 1 part peat, 1-2 parts grit
Add-ins: dolomitic limestone (MAX of 2 lbs/yd), Holly-Tone (15 lbs/yd)
pH: ~5.5-6.0 (acidic)
Moisture: the soil mix needs to be extremely loose to provide the good drainage and high oxygen required by the root system, but still retain moisture. A mixture of sandy loam soil, ground fir bark, and coarse peat moss or oak leaf mold for acidity is the recommended soil mix for planting in the ground. Additional horticultural perlite is recommended if growing camellias in pots. Try to recreate this when mixing bonsai soil. Think about the black soil under rhododendrons in our mountains, and you have an idea of what to shoot for.
80.3 Light
Routine: Understory to dappled shade for C. japonica, partial sun for C. sasanqua. Part to full sun for C. sinensis.
Summer: Provide mid-day shade to keep roots of C. japonica and C. sasanqua cool. Tea camellias seem not to mind summer heat as much.
80.4 Cultivation Notes
80.4.1 Potting & Root Pruning
Repot in late spring.
During initial cultivation, only move camellias to the next larger size pot once the root ball has almost filled the old container. Do not try to over-pot camellias or move them up too early. Over-potting causes over-watering problems. Similarly, do not repot styled trees too frequently. Give the roots time to fill the pot.
Handle camellia roots gently. They have fine, fragile roots that do not like to be combed out aggressively. Similarly, keep root pruning to a minimum. Shake out excess old soil, trim straggler roots, then work new soil around the roots slowly.
Unlike other camellias, tea camellia forms a strong taproot that will need to be managed with pruning. Keep working it back slowly; do not try to remove the entire taproot in one season.
80.4.1.1 Top & Branch Management
Prune spring-bloomers after flowers fade, then trim new shoots as needed. Prune fall-blooming types after flowering in late fall through winter to promote spring growth.
When developing a new tree from ground stock, do not let the central leader run unchecked. Young shrubs in training should be kept short to stimulate extension of the lower branches. Keep the apex low so the shrub is wider than tall until there are numerous side branches. Then leave the shrub in the ground and allow the branches to lengthen and the basal flare to develop.
Once the base has reached the desired caliper, prune all branches and the leader hard. Lift the following spring.
All camellias bud back readily on old wood. A healthy camellia that has become overgrown can tolerate extremely aggressive rejuvenation pruning. So long as a branch has 2-3 leaves, it will back-bud on very old wood. Save the clippings for rooting new plants.
Fine pruning: new growth (flushes) occur in spring-summer, and is stimulated by tip pruning, that is, removing the top two leaves and the bud (unopened leaf at the tip of the branch.) Healthy camellias can be tip pruned up to 4 times each growing season. Watch how long it takes new growth to harden off. Once you know how long your camellia needs to harden off, you know how close to the local frost date you can safely take the last tips for the year.
80.4.2 Feeding
Fertilize camellias in training with soluble food for azaleas at full strength; reduce to half strength for trees near their final size, or in show pots. For spring-blooming cultivars, wait until the flowering period ends to fertilize, and stop fertilizing about a month before frost.
Begin fertilizing fall-blooming types in mid-spring, and stop about 2 weeks before the blooms are expected.
If feeding with an organic fertilizer, use one formulated for hollies or evergreens, like Epsoma Holly-Tone.
80.4.3 Pests & Problems
Camellias in this area can get petal blight, a disease that makes the flowers and adjacent new leaves swell and thicken. The petals turn yellow, and the leaves bleach to pale green. Fortunately the disease is self-limiting. Cut off swollen leaves and flowers as they appear, pruning back to an unaffected leaf. New growth will emerge within a week or two.
80.4.4 Winter Storage
All camellias need protection from wind and rapid changes in root temperature. Tea camellias are particularly susceptible to cold, unless you are growing one of the cold-selected cultivars. Protect the roots with bark mulch. Keep them slightly elevated on pine needles or mulch so they do not get waterlogged by wet winter weather.
80.5 Propagation Notes
Camellias can be propagated easily from tip cuttings. Often a forgotten cutting will root in a glass of water on the windowsill.
Cut tips in late summer, when the grow is fairly woody. Strip the leaves, leaving 2-4 leaves and 2-3 buds. Cut at an angle, and dip in rooting hormone, then sink cuttings into a moistened mix of 2 parts finely chopped pine bark, 1 part coarse sand, and 1 part perlite. Spray with fungicide, and place under a plastic cover to maintain humidity. Cuttings will root in 1-2 months.
80.6 Artistic & Styling Notes
Camellias are not a common bonsai subject, but there are examples (like the one shown below) that indicate they can be trained successfully.
They have several appealing features:
- Piedmont NC is in the middle of their USDA Hardiness range (7-9).
- They are evergreen broadleaf shrubs that thrive under similar growing conditions as azaleas.
- Their flowers come in different colors, patterns, and forms (single, semi-double, etc.)
- They are popular landscaping shrubs in NC and much of the south, so are widely available in nurseries and garden centers.
- Two of the most common types actually PREFER shade, making them great options for enthusiasts who do not have much sun.
80.7 Additional Information
80.7.1 Natural History
Camellias can be divided into three groups:
- Spring-blooming Japanese or common camellias (C. japonica var. japonica and C. japonica var. rusticana)
- Fall-blooming camellias (C. sasanqua)
- Chinese tea camellias (C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. s. var. assamica)
Camellia japonica is native to the low mountains of mainland China, Taiwan, southern Korea and southern Japan. They are forest understory shrubs much like the native azaleas and rhododendrons of the southern Appalachians. Colors range from white to pink-red, with both solid colors and patterns.
C. japonica var. japonica was named by Linnaeus. It flowers between January and March. This sub-species has longer stems on the leaves (1 cm/0.4 in.) so will have slightly more open foliage pads.
C. japonica var. rusticana was named by later botanists. It has shorter leaf stems (0.5 cm/0.2 in.) that make tighter foliage pads. In Japan these are called “yuki-tsubaki” (snow camellia) because they are native to the beech forests on the snow prone mountains of northern Honshu. Heavy drifts of snow bury them from December until the end of March. This subspecies bloom from April to May as the snow melts.
C. sasanqua also are native to China and Japan, and grow in similar low mountain habitats. They bloom in autumn rather than spring. Unlike spring camellias, most Sasanqua cultivars have single, fragrant blooms. They range in color from white to dark pink.
C. sinensis is native to East and Southeast Asia, and India. It is an evergreen multi-trunk shrub or small tree that tolerates repeated heavy pruning. Most cultivars have yellow-white single flowers, and bloom in fall.
80.7.2 In Cultivation
Camellias do well both in the ground and in pots, but are fussier than many trees and shrubs about their soil and light requirements. If you meet their requirements though, they are very hardy, often living 100-200 years.
Camellia japonica has probably been in cultivation in China since the 11th century. In the U.S., camellias were first sold in 1807 as greenhouse plants, then as outdoor landscape shrubs in the south. The estate garden of Magnolia-on-the-Ashley in Charleston, SC is responsible for introducing hundreds of new cultivars from the 19th century onwards. Breeders in China, Japan and the US have produced more than 2000 cultivars to date, mostly with variations inf flower shape, color, and patterns. However one cultivar, ‘Unryu’ has a zig-zag branching pattern. Another rare cultivar is ‘Kingyo-tsubaki’ or fishtail camellia; the tips of its leaves resemble a fish’s tail.
Sasanqua camellias were brought into cultivation in Japan in the 1600s. They were introduced into England in 1820, and Dutch traders brought them into Europe and North America in the 1860s.
The first recorded tea camellia cultivars date back >3,000 years. Modern cultivars can be sub-divided into Chinese small-leaf types (C. sinensis var. sinensis) and Assam or large-leaf types (C. s. var. assamica). These two sub-types are the sources for the many kinds of tea consumed world-wide.
Chinese small-leaf types tend to grow as a bush with multiple stems that can reach 10 feet tall. Leaves on most Assam types are too large for bonsai.
Below are the names of several C.s. var. sinensis cultivars that could be adapted to bonsai. A “CF” next to the name means the cultivar is commercially available from Camellia Forest, an importer and grower of camellias just outside of Chapel Hill, NC.
- ‘BL1’
- ‘BL2’
- ‘Black Sea’ (CF)
- ‘Christine’s Choice’ (CF)
- ‘Dave’s Fave’ (CF)
- ‘Large leaf’ (CF)
- ‘Small leaf’ (CF)
- ‘Sochi’ (CF)
- ‘Yabukita’
- ‘Yutakamidori’
‘Sochi,’ was developed in Russia and is grown around the Black Sea. This is the most cold-adapted of the tea camellias, and seems to do quite well here.