Question for you Camelia growers.

On the Gardeners Diary tv show w/ Erica Glasner she was visiting a gardener in Georgia who grew a lot of Camelias. He said his favorite was RL Wheeler. I was wondering if any of you camelia growers grew this variety and what your opinion was of it. I just found a source for it from Camelia Forest Nursery for $16.00, is this what I should expect to pay for it?

The $16.00 sounds pretty normal. I paid eight for mine but it was half price. We shop at a nursery that puts everything half price in October. Ours is a sansaqua so blooms in fall. It's 3 years old and has grown probably 3 feet. Not familiar with the variety you mentioned but then I'm pretty clueless. I put things in the ground and hope they make it. Fortunately, the camellia has :-) vic

I've never grown camelias, but this thread interests me, and I hope to have one. Before I became interested in gardening, I bought a house in Atlanta. To my pleasant surprise, the first christmas there had a camellia blooming. The color was a wonderful pinkish color, and all through the winter I'd have a single bloom floating in a crystal dish on the table. I was SO impressed with that bush, and think one might survive here.

darius, I think what might work for you is a Camellia sasanqua, fall-blooming camellia. The buds would probably freeze off if exposed to the elements all winter (re: spring blooming camellias). I am in zone 6b/7a, and mine is in bloom now! It enjoys a sheltered location in an ell of the house, and morning sun. My variety may be something like Hana no kisoi (sp?), a lovely pink. You probably have nice acid soil there in NC, perfect for camellias. John

Oh, Help!!!! Last summer, a neighbor gave me a 4 ft tall camelia plant she had purchased, but decided she didn't want(lucky me!!!). Unfortunately, I planted it against a 6 ft. tall wood privacy fence, after reading that camelias like shade, where it gets pretty much all shade, only indirect light. It was completely COVERED in pink blooms, but only a few opened. Now it is late April, it's still covered with those unopened blooms, and almost all the foliage has turned yellow. I assumed it was due to the shade issue, so yesterday I transplanted it to a different fence that gets half day of morning sun where I have my other camelia (that one did much better this year). After reading up some more on it today,though I now fear it will be in too much sun. (The other camelia gets a little more shade than this new spot.) Am I going to have to transplant again?? Any ideas if not the sun problem, of what I should do to make my plant beautiful again? I'm pretty new to gardening, so any info would help!!!

Hi Rosiesun and welcome to dave's. Half day of morning sun sounds fine. It would help to know where you are gardening, what zone... Is your soil acid? That is important. Might be able to help more given some clues about your climate. John

Thanks for the reply John. Just joined yesterday and haven't figured out how to list my area and zone yet. I live a little northeast of Atlanta, GA, zone 7?? I am a very beginner gardener and honestly I'm not sure about the acid.

rosiesun, someone from GA might be better able to tell, but I think your soil is acid... Do you see Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Magnolias, Mountain Laurel thriving in the wooded areas? Should be perfect for Camellias then also.

Now, I am also in zone 7, but that is a little different in NJ! However, this was the first winter ever, that my Camellias lost their leaves due to cold and wind. They are yellow and brown and look awful, but should be putting out a flush of new growth as soon as it warms up and stays warm. So, I think yours should be fine.

When the Camellia leafs out again, I plan to fertilize with cottonseed meal and/or MirAcid.

Good luck! John

Thanks for the advice, John. Ironincally, I have both rhododendrons and azaleas, neither I would say "thriving"! However, I do see tons of beautiful azaleas all around, it's probably just my inexperience with how to manipulate the soil. I have various types of azaleas doing well, but my Glory azaleas, planted in mostly shade are currently COVERED in flowers, but absolutely NO leaves!!!! Very bizarre looking I must say, not to mention my two rhododendrons in the same bed that never bloomed last year at all! I think I just have a brown thumb, pout, pout. I feed all three (camelias, azaleas, rhod.) with an azalea fertilizer, but maybe I'll go get some cottonseed meal, too.

rosiesun, some native azaleas bloom before leafing out, so that might be true of your Glory azaleas as well. John