Blooming camellias bring touch of spring!
The two most commonly grown kinds of camellia are sasanquas and japonicas. Sasanquas, which have an open, airy structure with smaller flowers and leaves, can handle more sun than the japonicas and tend to bloom earlier.
While few camellias are “fast growers,” (they typically reach six to 12 feet tall and wide in about10 to 15 years), the sasanqua varieties and some of the hybrids do grow more quickly than the japonicas. But, the flowers of the japonicas are longer lasting, so its a bit of a tradeoff.
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Japonicas, which are larger in overall size, with bigger leaves and flowers, thrive in shade and tend to bloom later in the season.
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Low-maintenance, shade-loving, small trees or shrubs, camellias throw themselves into spellbinding bloom during the dull days from late fall into early spring, when there’s not much cheer happening in the garden. Available in a remarkable range of colors, forms, and sizes, camellias bloom in hues from white or pink to deep red. Some flowers are as simple as a wild rose while others as full blown as a peony. While you’ll grow them for the flowers, the evergreen dark glossy leaves look great year round.
