Beautiful Camellias

We are fortunate to have lots of different colored Camellia Shrubs and we enjoy them very much. I love to cut them and have arrangements throughout our home.

I remember one year they actually bloomed in December which is not the norm. They usually bloom in early spring but this was a particularly warm winter. We were having a big Christmas Party so I cut and cut and had tons of the beautiful blossoms to decorate with. I filled a long planter on our porch with them just by sticking the stems in the existing soil. Everyone was amazed and it was a beautiful site even if I do say so myself!

It is such fun to see so many varieties of Camellias and I just had to share with my readers. Hope you enjoy! Let me know which color is your most favorite. I love them all.

There are well over 200 species of the Camellia so we don't have one of each of them but we do enjoy many varieties. Some are bright red, some are pastel pink and some have a little of both colors.

Clemson University Extension Service has a good information about Camellias in South Carolina on their website: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/shrubs/hgic1062.html

I am going to study the CU Extension website and learn the names of our varieties.

These look like candy stripes and makes me think of Peppermints. Maybe that is the name of this one. I am not sure of any of the correct names but have nicknamed them through the years.

Most of our Camellias are at least 50 years old and were rooted by my mother-in-law. They have grown so large and some are right next to the house which has caused a problem in recent years with contributing to moisture under the house. My husband is on up in years and spends most of his day in his room sitting in a comfy chair. The room has very large windows and the largest Camellia Bushes are right outside his windows. I thought he was going to cry when I mentioned that we may have to cut them down. He was not going to hear of it. We will try to cut them away from the house as much as we can but they will remain here as long as we do and will continue to bring us joy.

Actually, we do very little to care for our Camellia Shrubs. They must like where they are planted and they must get plenty of water from the rain and the fact that we live on a creek. In reading online about the care of Camellias, I found that soil and water are the two things that make a difference. We sure don't worry about either of those. They also like to be sheltered from full sun and protected from the wind.

We don't prune them but do try to remove the dead branches and leaves. The flowers fall off so the ground is covered with blossoms when that happens.

These Camellias are close to 50 years old and have survived some rough weather through the years. I read somewhere that Camellias have been reported to live for centuries so I hope ours will be around a lot longer.

I think the pink ones in the video above are Japonicas or Pink Perfection Camellia. All of ours may be Japonicas in various colors but I don't think so. I know we have some Sasanquas, too.

I would love to hear what is blooming in your yard. Do you have any Camellia Shrubs? I feel very fortunate that my husband and his mother planted all these many years ago.

Please share your experience with this beautiful plant in the comment section below.