Camellias

Does anyone out there know anything about camellias? I planted an equal number of sasanqua camellias and japonica camellias last Fall. The japonicas are doing great and surviving our very cold winter (15 degrees in Atlanta) very well. The sasanquas, however, are dying. Both types were planted under identical conditions. I called an expert who said japonicas are much hardier than sasanquas. They are the original plant from which sasanquas were developed. He also suggested I test my soil for acidic/alkaline balance. Does anyone out there have any similar experiences with camellias?

Did they look like they were dying before the weather got cold? I don't know that much about them, but if the hardiness listed in Plant Files is correct, C. sasanqua is hardy to zone 7a which means it can handle at least some brief exposure to temps as low as 0 F. So if the problems started this winter when you had cold weather I wouldn't give up on them yet--newly planted things do tend to be a bit more susceptible to cold damage so it's definitely possible that they're dead, but it's also possible that they're not so I'd leave them alone for now and see what happens in the spring--I've had things that looked completely dead surprise me and come back. It doesn't hurt to test your soil--camellias are acid lovers so if your soil is too alkaline then you'll need to do some amending to keep them happy, but if your soil pH was so far off that it was going to kill your sasanquas, your japonicas wouldn't be looking too hot either so I suspect that's not the main problem here.

I've noticed that the sasanquas in our zone have been having a tough time with this winter's ups and downs. Usually they're easier to grow than C. japonicas (our nursery's customers kill way more C. japonicas than they do C. sasanquas). But this year many of the sasanquas are developing reddish spots on the foliage due to freeze damage. It shouldn't kill the plant, it just makes it look like it's going to die. Most likely they will push out new growth this spring and be just fine.

I agree with the info you have been given, I grow several Camellias and the frost / cold can knock them back a bit, but they normally recover, as mentioned they need an acid soil, they also like a bit of protection from early morning sun in early spring where a night frost settles on the forming buds or flowers when they are opening, and the faster thaw from the sunshine causes the buds to die back or the flowers to turn brown and go mushy
For this reasons, I always plant them close to some shelter from trees, larger shrubs or structures, it is a good idea to give them a thick mulch of peat, leaf litter or a mixture of both, a thick layer around the root area protect the fine shallow roots from ground frost, but dont pile this up onto the stems /trunks or it will cause rot to set in and can bring on disease, just leave a narrow gap between the stem and mulch. lots of Camellias originate from the coldest area of Japan / China etc and will tolerate a great deal of very cold weather, so I would wait till spring, if your still worried, when the weather shows signs of warming up in day time, give the bark a little scratch with your finger nail and if you see green or good signs of life, leave them alone to give recovery time from the harsh winter, if it looks brown and dried, then that part has probably died, but still leave them for a while longer as you may just see signs of new life at the base of the shrub or see it breaking new growth elsewhere. I always give mine a feed after flowering time about May / June in UK, and fork it in gently as they are not deep rooted shrubs, buy special feed for acidic plants, ie, Rhody, Camellias and Magnolias, at this time of year, the food helps them build up energy for the harsh winters and flower-buds forming sometime before Christmas. Hope all this helps you out and your shrubs are just fine.
Good Luck. WeeNel.