A strong and upright shrub, photographed here at Wisley last year (15th March), with glossy dark green leaves, profusely bearing large, single, crimson-red flowers, with prominent golden-yellow stamens. Early blooming.
Camellias are elegant shrubs for a border or woodland garden; they also make excellent specimen plants, both outdoors in open ground and preferring ericaceous compost, many varieties can make excellent, long-lived container plants. Providing an attractive glossy evergreen presence, structure, spring colour in the garden and a calm backdrop to summer planting schemes.
A regular tonic containing iron will help maintain good plant health.
Popular for their bold foliage and abundance of showy, white, pink, red (and striped) or yellow flowers, camellias have been extensively hybridised to create a range of flower forms. They can be single, semi-double and formal double, anemone-form, peony and rose-form double. They can be scented.
The japonicas flower early to late Spring, the sansaqua varieties flower in mid to late Autumn and can be in flower at Christmas.
The Teddington Gardener 