Planting Camellia Gardens

Camellias line the circular driveway in our heirloom garden. We know that most of them were planted over 30 years ago and some were planted about 50 years ago by the original owners of this parcel of land. We have been able to identify some of them, but others are still unnamed. Whether named or not we look forward to their beautiful blooms each year.

In the south, camellias bloom from December through March. Winter freezes and frosts will nip them a little and kill some of the open flowers and buds, but most make it and start blooming again within a couple of weeks after cold winter. Here in South Louisiana, many a Christmas dinner table is decorated with an arrangement of camellias.

Camellias like open shade and acid soil. They do well under our tall Loblolly pines. Once they are established they are very hardy and lend beauty with their evergreen leaves and beautiful blossoms.

Most of the Camellias in our garden are Camellia japonica, but we also have several of the lovely Camellia sasanquas and some small tea Camellias, Camellia sinensis. Most (except hybrids) Camellia sasanquas and C. sinensis can be grown "true" from seed. Camellia sasanquas bloom in the fall and there are many beautiful colors and varieties available today. Adding the fall blooming, C. sasanquas, to your Camellia garden extends the bloom period so that you will have Camellia blooms three-fourths of the year.

Excerpt from Get It Growing: Camellias Brighten Winter Landscape In South by Dan Gill, LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

Success with camellias depends on the planting site.

Camellias prefer partial shade to part sun - about four to six hours of direct sun with shade in the afternoon. They thrive in the light shade cast by tall pine trees but would not be as happy in the heavy shade under a large live oak. When planted in full sun, camellias are subject to more stressful conditions. In stressful full sun locations, the foliage sometimes has a yellowish look, and flower buds may not open properly.

Good drainage is essential. Do not plant camellias in areas that are poorly drained or where water settles after a rain. Plant camellias on mounds or in raised beds if you want to put them in an area where drainage otherwise would be a problem. The addition of organic matter and, in some cases, sand to the planting area will help improve drainage. Compost, peat moss and rotted manure all are suitable forms of organic matter.

Camellias are acid-loving plants, and an alkaline soil (pH above 7) can limit their ability to obtain some nutrients, especially iron. When you are preparing the area for planting, incorporate a soil acidifier, such as sulfur, copperas or aluminum sulfate, if the pH of your soil is above 7.

Depth of planting for camellias also is very important. Make sure they are planted with the upper surface of the root ball even with or slightly above the soil level of the planting area. Apply mulch several inches thick around the newly planted camellia. The mulch will help maintain moisture and prevent the growth of weeds. Just be sure to pull it back slightly from the base of the trunk.

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We are lucky to have a wonderful collection of heirloom Camellias located not too far away from us, at the Hammond Research Station. This collection was planted by Hody Wilson, Superintendent of the Station from 1936 to 1975. During his time at the Station, Hody nurtured and produced many camellia seedlings. According to the records, the majority of the camellias were planted during the late 1930's to early 1950's. The garden originally contained about 650 Camellia japonicas and C. sasanquas on a two-acre tract; over the years, a few have been lost.

During the 1990's, the garden was neglected because the Reseach Station changed its emphasis from experimentation with ornamentals to fruits and vegetables. However, the Tangipohoa Parish, Louisiana Master Gardeners came to the rescue in 1999 when they took on the clean up and maintenance of the garden as a project. Until her death in 2001, Master Gardener, Susan Spiller and others, worked many hours cleaning up and caring for the camellias. A memorial camellia, "Sweet Jane", was planted in the garden in her memory.

About 450 of the 650 plants have been identified by experts, but some of the bushes were seedlings that Hody developed and have never been named. A map of the garden and propagation of the shrubs is an on-going Master Gardener project. Propagation methods include air-layering, grafting and cuttings. The propagated plants will provide plants for a new collection which will be started across the street, in a few years. Propagated plants are also offered for sale to the public during Camellia Garden Strolls or Spring Garden Days which are co-sponsored by LSU AgCenter and Tangipahoa Parish Master Gardener Association.

In February, 2008 we toured the garden and took pictures of about 30 of the beauties. We kept a log of the names and were able to match most of the photographs with the list we kept, but alas, some of the most beautiful ones were unnamed. We hope you'll enjoy this virtual tour of the gardens. In the future, we plan to provide links when we can match the name and photo of the camellia to one on a web site.

Here are photos of our favorite twenty-four Camellia japonicas from the hundreds of Camellias that grow in the Hammond Camellia Garden.

Many of the name tags were missing or were so old that we could not make them out (even with our reading glasses). The Tangipohoa Master Gardeners are currently working on a "map" of the garden which they hope to finish in the next year or so. In the meantime, I would appreciate any input from any Camellia growers and/or experts in identifying both the unknowns in our yard and in the Hammond Collection. Just leave a comment below if you recognize any of the pictures.

1. Guilio Nuccio                     2. Agnes of the Oaks


3. Sweet Jane                         4. Drama Girl


5. Extravaganza                         6. Unknown Pink


7. Coed                                   8. Jeneli


9. Adolphe Audusson                         10. Unknown, Double white


11. Unknown (multi rose/white)             12. William Kade? (unreadable)    


13. Unknown red/white                         14. Irene Coker


15. Destiny                         16. Unknown rose-pink


17. X-18 l                         18. Julia Lawton


19. 27/8 double rose                         20. Mattie R.


21. Betty Sheffield Supreme                         22. Red in corner, unknown


24. Aroma pink variegated, nice smell             25. Dorothy Strong