Some advice to succeed in growing your camellia ...
The best location
Shelter from cold draughts and the burning rays of the sun. The cooler the soil remains in summer, the more the camellia resists the sun. Don't hesitate to plant it under the cover of large deciduous trees, avoiding the proximity of large shallow-rooted trees that pump all the water. The presence of a canopy protects the most fragile flowers from bad weather and prevents the white flowers from rusting. Spare it the eastern exposure that the winter sun heats up too quickly after a cold night.
The best substrate
Acid (pH around 6), fresh, drained and fertile! If your soil is calcareous or neutral, make a special pit and line the bottom with a garden felt or plant in a pot. Beware of pure heather soil, too light and too poor. Improve it with as much humus. In pots, give some body to the substratum by incorporating a clay soil of the rose type.
Safe planting
Soak the root ball of the camellia well before planting to hydrate it. The planting hole should be equal to twice the volume of the root ball, wider than it is deep because the roots are superficial. Improve drainage by placing a layer of clay balls at the bottom of the hole (not white gravel, limestone!!).
Some precautions in pots
The camellia can live for many years in a pot if it is at least 35-40 cm in diameter. At the beginning of each spring, replace 5 cm of the surface with a brand new substrate. The pot allows you to enjoy perfect flowers if you can shelter them from cold and bad weather in a greenhouse or an unheated veranda (5 to 10°C).
Its Achilles heel!
The superficial roots are sensitive to drought and cold. The best solution: mulch with a good bed of dead leaves or grass clippings depending on the season.
Water with care
Keep the substrate fresh all year long by watering regularly with non-calcareous water. Camellia fears drought as much as excess water that suffocates the roots. Don't forget to water in winter, especially if it is in a pot or placed under a roof edge.
Well nourished
Regular mulching with organic matter enriches the soil. Complete with a spring application of fertilizer 'Plants of heathland' to boost the growth and the formation of future flower buds.
To prune or not ?
Pruning is not necessary except to remove diseased or cold-damaged parts. Prune after the camellia blooms when it is no longer freezing. Regularly clean the faded flowers of those that do not lose them naturally. Watch out for future buds that form very early. You can give a new look to the slightly gangly subjects by pruning them short, but do not count on flowers the following winter!
