Happy Camellia Season!

When I moved to the new house, I had to move the container garden in the middle of winter, which meant right in the middle of all the Camellias setting their buds and getting ready to bloom. Past experience has taught me that Camellias tend to get a little finicky when they are moved in that stage (see: Pinky’s Hissy Fit, or, Plants Can Be Dramatic Too) so I was worried that they wouldn’t handle the move well.

But I’m happy to report that all the Camellias made the transfer without any complaints, and the Japonica varieties are starting to bloom!

Camellia Japonica April Dawn – my very first Camellia, and also very, VERY finicky. Last year she had a little fit and dropped all her buds mid-winter, this year I gave her lots of TLC and she came up with one bloom at the very top.

Camellia Japonica Chandleri Elegans – this was a lucky find at my favorite local garden center, it’s not very common and a beautiful bloom. This one came with some great advice from the garden center staff about shade placement to encourage Camellias to bloom.

Camellia Japonica Unryu – a unique vertical, twisty variety which I found on a special trip to Swanson’s Nursery in Seattle for a fun day out with a long time friend

Camellia Japonica Magnoliaeflora – this was the first Camellia I really searched for, and I thought it wasn’t going to be available in my region. But I made a stop at the garden center on the way home from one of my cancer therapy infusions and was lucky enough to get the last one that was just finishing up blooming. Magnoliaeflora has been my strongest and most consistent bloomer

Bonus fun: if you ever wondered what it takes to move a large container garden, the answer is: a 6ft x 12ft u-haul trailer and an SUV with lots of space for all the plants that don’t fit in that trailer!

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