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this is sasanqua 'pink snow' growing at the edge of my yard where the woods begin. it blooms very well in the fall. started before halloween and has flowers on it still. it has smooth beige bark and would make a nice small tree. this photo is from several years ago but you can see by the top branches that it wants to grow upward. it could be limbed up from the bottom but i want the lower branches to screen the background there. i believe this one grows a bit faster than some. i also have 'rose dawn', a japonica, pruned to a similar form.
'pink snow' flowers as they open
{{gwi:518144}} and the pale pink before they shatter.
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the individual flowers don't last very long but the large number of buds on the shrub provide a long, floral display.

Since I have a few CMs, I would point out that, in addition to shady locations causing bloomage problems, CMs also flower poorly or not at all when a fungus called powdery mildew attacks the plant. PM thrives in humid conditions like yours. PM resistant cultivars with American Indian Names are recommended for those types of locations.

Finding and getting large camellias may be a problem since you can get a list from people here but then you have to see what the local nursery industry carries. If you were in North Carolina, I would suggest going to Cam Forest. They have a web page just for large camellias:

http://www.camforest.com/category_s/98.htm

I recommend that you visit local nurseries and landscape companies too. Then go see the plant if they are in bloom. You have to like the time when the shrub blooms, the type of bloom as well as the color or shade of color.

Let us know what you decide to use!

you can have almost any camellia in that form if you prune for shape. any that are described as "upright" or "tall" would work. avoid those described as having a low or spreading growth habit. in my experience, the sasanquas grow faster than the japonicas. just something to consider unless you opt to buy a large specimen already shaped to that form.
a white flowered one would look nice with your house colors.
this one was purchased from the hort. dept. of the local university. i believe it to be 'setsugekka'. they propagated them from shrubs on the campus. they are the size of small trees, actually. it is a simple but beautiful flower to me.
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how's miss ellie doing? :-)

LOL, Miss Ellie is A-OK. We are planting a camellia garden at the Southfork up in heaven lol. I think you might be the first person to ever even understand the screen name.

I am going to look this weekend to see what the local nurseries offer in the way of large plants. I realize a large one will probably be well over a hundred bucks, but this is such a prominent place in the yard, and it's a relatively small yard so everything has to count.

I think my biggest problem is going to be getting rid of the crape myrtle. Fortunately the wood is not very dense so I can probably cut it down myself with a chainsaw--the roots are the problem. I guess I will have to hire a stumpgrinder to come out. I will also have to work up the nerve to cut down this tree that has been there for at least 11 years--it went in the first year I bought the house brand new. If I had been smart and planted it 6-10 feet further away from the house, it might not be a problem now, but oh well. This morning there was a fresh pile of leaves blanketing my front walk from the tree.

Same thing happened to me two days ago. I have a humongous CM in the back and it dumped the leaves overnight Sunday/Monday.

I have to agree with all who have mentioned that sasanquas will get to a tree-size more quickly than japonicas. I think you could go with any color, given what I see of your house.

One of the best-looking sasanquas I'm noticing locally is 'Kanjiro'. One neighbor has an especially attractive large shrub/small tree in the front yard that is good-looking all year, but a real show-stopper now that it's covered with flowers. 'Setsugekka' is a good-looking sasanqua also, and that photo of 'Pink Snow' is very nice indeed....

'Masterpiece Pink' was born in the Lake Charles area & has a reputation for having attractive foliage & getting tall rather quickly- for a japonica, that is... If you like 'Pink Perfection', the pink, formal MP flowers might appeal to you.

Another pink formal double that hails from Slidell is 'Tammia'- I rather like the shape & shading of the miniature flowers, but I believe that it's growth rate is 'medium', so not a speedy grower. As you mentioned, you would need to find a fairly well-established plant if you choose almost any japonica.

'Pink Perfection' AKA 'Otome' is a classic garden plant & will branch nicely, but I don't know how large it gets. There seems to be at least 2 different 'Pink Perfections' out there, so if you decide to buy for the flower, try to get a look at the bloom before you buy.

It might be a good idea to test your soil before you plant anything new there. If the fatsias died, and the CM is languishing, there could be a soil deficiency?

Here is a link that might be useful: LSU Ag Center info on soil testing

I encountered a rather tall and nicely branched 'Pink Perfection' in our neighborhood recently, so they will get to a small tree size.

I checked also with my camellia-growing friend/mentor who has grown 'PP' for many years, and he says it will get as tall as most other camellias, but is a somewhat slower grower than average.

I forgot to mention 'Sweet Jane' in my earlier post. She is a lovely, hardy and vigorous growing plant with small, pink flowers- and lots of them! I just got one for myself, and another for my sister- not blooming yet, but covered in buds... I found them locally, so you may be able to find it where you are... I'm attaching the link on 'SJ' at Camellia Forest Nursery's web site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Camellia Forest Nursery info on 'Sweet Jane'

Any upright, non-dwarf camellia grows into a tree shape given enough time - it is not necessary to undertake a particular pruning regime to get a tall, tree-like specimen. Camellia japonica cultivars for instance have been measured 33' high in Seattle, with much larger examples known in Japan. But if you want something bigger than the tubbed ones stocked by independent garden centers (and costing hundreds of dollars each) you may have to wait many years for a smaller plant to grow to the desired height.

Here is a good candidate, from a description from Green's Nursery webpage: "Camellia japonica hybrid âÂÂHigh Fragranceâ ~ New Zealand 1986 ~How about a camellia that smells like an antique rose? Large, double pink flowers send out a wonderfully strong scent. Very upright, loose grower, can be trained to a small tree over time. Lavender pink flowers are semidouble to peony in mid to late season-the fragrance permeates a garden in Winter." A very fine camellia nursery just opened just south of Alexandria, LA, owned by Larry Bates. I visited yesterday and they have some very beautiful and reasonably-priced camellia plants, including nice specimens of High Fragrance (see link attached).

Here is a link that might be useful: Bates Camellia Nursery