Happy Thanksgiving From Camellia Heaven.  Have a beautiful day!

‘Lemon Glow’, yellow camellia.  Available in 3 gallon sizes. All are @ 2 to 3 years old.  Current heights for this age range from 2 1/2, to 3 1/2 feet tall.  A small, slow growing, compact camellia, that won’t get to be tall (6 to 8 feet), for many years. This is a perfect camellia if you are looking for a smaller size camellia. Cold hardy.  Sold exclusively at Camellia Heaven in the Tallahassee, FL area.  Call us to place your order!

Easter Camellias.

I want to thank all of you who have come by my table this weekend at the Flower show at the Fair to ask questions, say hello, and to purchase your new camellias.  The weather has been absolutely Tallahassee beautiful, with clear skies, and moderate daytime temperatures.  It’s been a fun and successful event this weekend, and one that I have really enjoyed, especially meeting all of you fellow camellia lover enthusiasts living here, and those visiting from out of town.

This year there has been a new record setting crowd in attendance, with in just 5 days of the Fair’s opening, over one hundred and three thousand people have come through the gates so far!  Wow!  The Fair ends on Sunday, November 17th, so be sure you come by and check out the Flower show (located In the Flora building) before it closes.

One of the many questions I was asked this weekend was: “When is it an okay time in the session to plant my camellias?“.  The answer is: camellias can be planted all year round.  Though it is recommend to not to plant them when it is  very hot outside, like in the low to mid-nineties, but other than this, camellias are fine to plant in the ground year round.  Just, as always, make sure that you keep them watered every 3 or four days, especially if it is dry weather, and hot.  In general, camellias should be watered at least every 5 or 6 days for several years, until their roots are established in the ground.

The other frequent question asked was, “When do camellias bloom?”  Answer:  All year round, except during the Summer months.

I’ll be back at the Fair next weekend, so please stop by and say hello, and keep those good questions coming. 🙂

We have other camellias available in stock that weren’t blooming when many photos were taken. If you are looking for a certain color, please email or call to see if we have it in stock.  A new blooming season is almost here, and we will continue posting new photos showcasing  different camellia varieties that are available. 

Remember, we will be updating and adding more camellia photos to our gallery in the future, so please come back to see us and check out what’s new!

I’ve been asked many times about planting instructions, and this is a great question because camellias are different from other plants, in that, you will need to be aware of several things before deciding you are ready to plant them in the ground. 

In general, most all camellias are quite hardy plants, and will give you years of enjoyment, blooming their beautiful and totally unique flowers for years to come.  Some camellias are called “fast growers” because they literally grow fast, and within 30 years, more or less, can grow to be be very large, as big a tree. 

Camellias are defined as ‘shrubs”, and some camellias varieties are known as are “slow growers’, in that, they are known to grow slowly.  I will go into more about this topic, and also, discuss how far to plant them apart, etc, in another post in the future, but for now, will address specific planting info you’ll need to know before planting your camellias.

No.1).  Do not plant them too deeply!  Remember your camellias will settle/sink somewhat into the ground naturally with time, so keep this in mind.  Keep the top portion of the plant, around the top circumference, about a half of an inch, or so, above the ground, so the top area of the root of the camellia is above the ground.  Depending on how big your camellia root ball is, dig your hole about 6 inches wider than the total size of the root ball. This will allow for the camellia’s roots to expand.

No.2 ).  Be sure to plant your camellia in an area of your yard that gets partial sunlight.  This is very important!  Planting camellias in an area with constant all day, full sunlight, will put a strain on your camellias health, and is not recommended at all, in general.  You don’t want to plant them in an area that is total shade, and no sun, as they must have some sunlight to bloom.

It’s always best to always plant camellias in an area of your yard that gets some direct sunlight, but sunlight that is primarily filtered sunlight.  Some direct sunlight, such as 1/3 of the day should be okay, and I have many of mine in areas like this, with some of them getting about 1/4, to sometime a 1/3 of the day’s sunlight, but as a rule, full sunlight, all day long, is simply way too much for camellias, and is not good.

No.3).  Right before planting the camellia, I gently slice in on each side, front and back of the root ball (a hatchet works well), going in about 1/4 of an inch deep.  Doing this, breaks up the often tightly wound up roots, and allows for the roots to expand once it has been planted in the ground.

No.4).  I personally recommend adding some Peat Moss to your soil when planting. I usually add about a cup (8 ounces) or so of peat moss and mix it in with the top soil I use. I also add in some dead leaves for mulch.  I seem to, no matter what season it is, always have plenty of leaves around on the ground (since I hardly ever rake my yard), and dead leaves work well as mulch. I add all of this, the peat moss, and leaves, in with the soil, and then lay the camellia root ball in the hole so that it lays flat on top of it, then fill in the sides with soil.  You can also use peat moss to feed your camellias during the year.  I will talk more about feeding, and what I use, in another post.

No.5).  After planting your camellia(s), be sure to water them at least every 4 or 5 days or so, especially if there has been no rain, which lately here in Tallahassee, Fla, is something we have not had to worry about!   But it is important to water them generously several times a week if possible, particularly when it has been hot and dry.   My advise is to continue to water them for several years like this until their root system has been fully developed. The exception to this, of course, is if you have had a lot of continuing and consistent rain.

Good luck, and happy camellia planting!