Camellia sasanqua (Autumn flowering Camellia)

In late summer and early autumn, the curtains go up on Camellia season. Blooming just when most of your other stuff is beginning to go over, Camellia sasanqua bursts forth with slightly fragrant soft-toned delicate flowers. The blooms are borne singly and are small but lovely, with a prominent yolky yellow central boss. They are also very abundant and clothe a substantial part of each stem, so it’s not just a tease at the tips.

They will grow quite slowly, taking their time to reach an eventual height of around 3 metres by 3 metres. It’s a neat evergreen Camellia whose leaves are small and tidy and with that characteristic gloss on them. Useful for informal hedging, and we like using them to add shapely year-round interest to borders. Nice in pots on a large patio to bring in some evergreen structure.  

In its native Japan, the leaves are used for tea, and the seeds yield a culinary oil.

Does best in a sheltered position protected from the cold east and north winds. Likes a sunny spot but will manage just fine in dappled shade. They do need a rich soil, and absolutely demand an acid one. Struggling or just failing entirely if plonked in anything approaching alkaline

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.