Most Popular / Best Camellia Varieties?

[kGarden]

No Camelias here as soil is alkaline, and I have a hatred of all things container-grown from years of the chore of watering the billions (actually I think it was more than that!!) of containers that my mother insisted were essential ... but as I grow older ... not to mention that automated irrigation is not that hard to achieve.

So I thought I ought to own some, but I'd like to go for Good Do'ers, rather than rare or special.

I tried a Google for some sort of Top-10-Best and got lots of info that was anything but a list of "Just buy these".

No idea how many I need (5 to 10 sounds about right to me) and whether I need a mix of Camellia × williamsii, C. japonica and C. sasanqua??

I'm not looking for instant gratification, can I just buy cheap and pot up & on and let them grow? or ought I to start at a 5L or even 10L pot size?

Thanks.

[charlie]

Only grow a few here but my best doer is St Ewe usually get the first flowers opening on Christmas day and the last fades in late April, not a great picture but it gives an idea!
001 by charliepridham, on Flickr

[Chad]

The original question is huge, and I had avoided it.

I agreed with Charlie that St Ewe is one of the best here.

Then I was talking to John Jerrard who pointed out that what does well in the open ground in Cornwall was not perhaps the best recommendation for a container plant in Suffolk.

There is very little benefit in buying a bigger plant. If kept well watered a smaller one will catch up in a season or two.

So a few things to consider;

The x williamsii are probably too vigorous for long term life potted.

Chose ones with good foliage – for most of the year that is all you have.

Do you want ‘natural’ – if so go for singles.

Or formal doubles [intricate planting round a seating are for example], or huge blowsy blooms with a ‘wow’ factor [reticulates].

Check which ones ‘self clean’ [drop their blooms as they go over] or you will spend the season dead heading [or not dead heading and looking at brown blooms!].

Don’t forget some of the other forms; Cornish Snow is a joy in a blizzard of small flower and Camellia transnokoensis has early small flowers in profusion and bronze new growth, and Camellia oleifera really is scented.

If you would like us to offer varietal recommendations I think you may be disappointed!

Chad.

[charlie]

Its a good point about them not doing well everywhere, witness the annual moaning on the Today program when John Humphreys Camellia in a pot fails to flower (yet again!) I find them a mixed blessing, they do look good in spring and the foliage is good, plus they make good hosts for Clematis, but they are sneaky, you just don't realize how quickly they grow and how big they can get

[Chad]

You just don't realize how quickly they grow and how big they can get.

Oh the pleasures of gardening in Cornwall!

I remember Graham Stewart Thomas talking about Camellia and saying how well behaved they were and they might 'get to the height of a man in the that man's life time' [very vague paraphrase].

In Kent they grew, but never seemed to get bigger.

In Cornwall I cut some to the ground when I moved in 15 years ago and they are now 20ft tall.

Potted they must never dry right out at the root or they sulk for years.

They are far less calcifuge than Rhododendrons, In Kent we grew then in an alluvial pocket of soil amended with peat and sulphur. There were bits of the garden they would grow in and bits they wouldn't; but some of the garden only had 6inches of soil over chalk!

Chad

[flounder]

Here in Brighton, my soil is chalk over more chalk, with a few years worth of home made compost. I have more chloritic hydrangeas then I do camelias. What varieties? they were labeled as 'pink', 'white' and 'red' in the pound shop! Pinky is fairly fast growing with a good, reliable display.
Around here, they all seem to top out at 5ft...would love to have a 20ft hedge of 'em but alas location not condusive for it.