Sasanqua Camellia or Sasanqua
Camellia sasanqua (THEACEAE)
Planting and Growing Sasanqua Camellia
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow sasanqua camellia or sasanqua in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, fruit, and seeds of sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- Growing conditions for sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- When and where to plant sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- How to plant sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- How to shape, prune and control growth of sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- Landscape uses of sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
- Pest and disease control for sasanqua camellia or sasanqua
Growing Sasanqua Camellia
Nearly 100 cultivars of slow-growing, erect, branching and open, evergreen shrubs, to 12 ft. (3.7 m) tall and wide, with shiny or waxy, deep green, narrow, oval, pointed leaves, to 2 in. (50 mm) long, with tan green undersides.
Common cultivars include Camellia sasanqua ‘Flower Girl’, ‘Jean May’, ‘Sakae’, and ‘Tanya’. Dwarf cultivars available. [See also: Common Camellia, Camellia japonica.]
Sasanqua Camellia Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Showy, very fragrant, pink, red, rose, white, and multicolored, single, semi-double, or double flowers, to 2 in. (50 mm) wide, in autumn–winter, form capsule-shaped fruit bearing seed in spring.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 8–10. Tender.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich. 6.5–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Partial shade. Space 2–3 ft. (60–90 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize every two months year-round. Mulch. Prune after bloom. Protect from frost, heat, sun, wind. Propagate by cuttings, grafting.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, borders, containers, hedges, paths, screens, walls in cottage, formal, natural, shade, small-space, woodland gardens. Mealybug, scale and anthracnose, blight, canker susceptible.
Common Species of Camellia
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- Camellia chrysantha, golden camellia
- Camellia granthamiana, Grantham camellia
- Camellia hiemalis
- Camellia japonica, common camellia
- Camellia lutchuensis
- Camellia oleifera, tea-oil plant
- Camellia reticulata
- Camellia saluenensis
- Camellia sasanqua, Sasanqua camellia
- Camellia sinensis, tea plant
- Camellia X vernalis
About Camellias
The Camellia genus about 80 species and many hundreds of named cultivars of showy, bushy, broad-leaved, evergreen shrubs and small trees. They are native to eastern Asia.
While camellias are somewhat tender, they grow in climates as cold as U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zone 6 with winter protection.
Camellias are prized for their large, showy flowers with single, double, or very double petals in shades from deep red to white, which appear in late winter in mild regions or spring in cooler areas.
Camellias are slow-growing, usually 6–45 ft. (1.8–13.5 m) tall and sometimes as wide.
Camellia plants grow well in containers as well as in the landscape. They seldom need heavy pruning. Camellias produce fragrant, long-lasting cut flowers, ideal for floating in a bowl or stemmed vase.
While generally resistant to pests, camellias are susceptible to mealybugs and scale insects. When weather turns cold and humid, they may also contract blight or anthracnose infections. Fertilize to increase their vigor and ability to fight off these diseases.
Many new camellia cultivars, in addition to old favorites, are offered in garden stores each spring. Choose from among some of the most popular camellia species, listed above.
Planting and Caring for Camellias
Camellias deserve a place in the shade garden next to the other beautiful and showy flowering woodlands shrubs—azalea, gardenia, and rhododendron.
Highlight garden paths, structures, or walls with their showy color or use them as landscape accents.
When mature, camellias are many-branched, densely leaved, glossy green, and lovely.
Flower buds appear in late autumn to early winter in mild-winter climates, filling shrub borders with fragrant, round, pleasing flowers that cloak their limbs for many weeks.
In cold-winter climates, they typically bloom in spring.
Plant camellias in a moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil rich in organic humus.
Camellias perform best in locations with partial shade while young, but mature plants tolerate full-sun locations and even hot summers. Provide ample water to keep their soil and roots moist.
Plant camellias with other species of the forest floor, and give them regular feedings with an acidic fertilizer. Remove spent flowers after their blooms fade.
Camellias are good container plants for small-space gardens, decks, and patios.
In landscape plantings, camellias are best used as understory plants in woodland gardens, mixed with other flowering shrubs and foliage plants.
Some species and cultivars have been bred for full shade, others for partial shade or filtered sunlight. Select cultivars and varieties successful in your region and conditions.
You’ll find that camellias develop open habits and become lanky when they grow in deep shade, yet become stunted if they receive too much sunlight early in their lives. Plant them under deciduous trees that have open foliage during the summer and lose their leaves in winter for the right mixture of sun and shade.
In ideal climates and growing conditions, camellias are star performers able to turn a woodland garden into a showplace.