I'm bumping this because I find this interesting. I currently live w/in 1 mile of the upper half of the Chesapeake Bay. I have grown camellias elsewhere in slightly cooler spots like the 6b area in western Ffx. county near Dulles. I have never seen anything like this before. This 'Korean Fire' has been very healthy, I planted it a couple years ago and hasn't face any hardships other than bit of deer browsing. (and the hot droughty summers) This year it has only been down to about 29F so far, there were various flowers still blooming in early Dec. and even today I noticed a few C. 'Mason Farm' flowers and that an iris in a sheltered spot was still trying to bloom. Just in the past couple weeks the leaves have turned this strong shade of red. I'm almost sure I've never seen this before on any C. japonica or hybrid, and I didn't even think this plant did it last year! Now, one thing that's interesting is almost all of my other Camellias are in morning shade in winter. This seems to be essential around here. Since 'Korean Fire' is supposedly quite hardy, it's the first plant I've tried in a spot that doesn't get morning winter shade. It's behind a big holly so it probably gets morning sun, shade for a few hours around 11am-3pm, then sun again for the very end of the day. Last winter was very mild, but the winter before that I remember just a bit of burning on it in the spring. Is it possible it somehow "knows" it's in a spot w/o sun protection, and is preemptively activating some kind of protective foliar change? What we do have is a lot of wind, and we've had a couple very windy spells since mid autumn, including the aftermaths of the post-Sandy snowstorm, and the recent storm (which only produced a quick dusting here). Maybe its noticing these periods of possible dessication and preparing in advance this time? Before you laugh at my seeming anthropomorphization let's remember that studies have shown plants DO activate various genes depending upon conditions and its quite possible some of these activations could be persistent.

Camellia japonica is very good for hedges. I know big hedges of Camellia japonica in Galicia (Spain). But this annual growth, which you want for your Camellias, I believe that she is not possible. To obtain one I peeped or more of annual growth only can be obtained in very good conditions of culture. And a lot of varieties grow towards the sides and little in vertically. In the collection of more than three hundred elderly and modern Camellias of Soutomaior's Castle, it is possible to observe the growth of many of you them will cultivate. Good varieties of vertical growth: MORNING GLOW, PRESTON ROSE, ORANDA-KO AND SAWADA. The densest hedges and more recortables for having the small leaves, are obtained by species of Camellia as: Camellia sasanqua, Camellia vernalis or Camellia wabisuke Camellia japonica cv.'SAWADA' The Camellias grow very much, but they need many years to develop her height. In order that they grow well you have to obtain: To cultivate adapted. Appropriate climate. Appropriate soil Good fertilization. Good taken care of gardening. Good luck. The best thing that you can do is to buy Camellias of the definitive size. To give form to the Camellia and to support them in the height that you want. Camellia's plants, which stand out as hedge, lose many flowering. The flowers are born in the apexes of the branches. Due to this circumstance, it gets used to planting hedges, the Camellias of simple flower, obtained of seeds. Pardon for my evil English. Regards. Here is a link that might be useful: Camellias in A Toxa

Yes,I like the look of the landscaping you've already got closer to the house, but I love the look of a tree surrounded by camellias- it's a classic look, IMO, and breaks up that endless-sea-of-grass look that's easy to mow, but not so visually stimulating... A Maple is great since it will give the camellias some shade in the summers, and provide just a little of that Asian-garden look without looking out of place in an American garden. One nice thing about this idea is that it can be easily expanded so that you can add another tree, some more camellias, an interesting shrub or two that you like the looks of... And once you've got some shade from the tree/ shrubs, you might add some hostas or other shade-tolerant plants that appeal to you and are suitable for your climate. I'm guessing from your tagline that you're in Alabama? Look in some older neighborhoods near you to see how people have used landscape islands with trees, shrubs and mulch- probably pine straw and pine bark... There are a lot of variations on the theme, so use whichever ideas appeal to you. I know your yard will look great once those shrubs and tree mature a bit... Good luck, Virginia

Hello, Eric. For the best answer to your question, I will defer to the Virginia Camellia Society Members on this link: http://www.genserva.com/vcs/ But be advised, you are not the only one with similar issues. I too get unpredictable weather (cold temps, warmer temps, cold temps again, etc). We just went thru a couple of drops to 13F and 15F that resulted in delayed blooming and also in a few browned out blooms. I currently have no blooming camellias as a result. Does this story sound familiar to you? Ha! I know, I l know. What a pain. My solution has been three fold. (1) do what you planned to do, (2) make sure that the camellias are well mulched aaaaand watered deeply the night before the temps plummet and (3) get ideas from nearby gardens (city gardens or other growers). Most of my camellias are Japonicas which bloom this time of the year. Unless temps plummet and then they either (a) pause and continue blooming later or (b) the flower buds brown out and fall (does not happen often but it does happen). As long as the flower buds have not browned out, you will get bloomage. The longest episode of delayed blooms for me was one that stopped in January and restarted in mid-March. Obviously, sasanquas and the Autumn Series will bloom early and not be often affected by this problem. On the opposite side of the calendar, the April Series, the Winter Series and camellias advertised as blooming "late" or "very late" would be possible choices as well. Note: these shrubs tend to bloom "around" the coldest time of the year, not bloom "right on through" it. After a cold spell that makes your camellias stop blooming, I would head over to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens to see if you find any camellias that are still blooming. Maybe wait 1 week, 2 weeks after the cold spell and then go? Do note that most camellias will have issues blooming in the coldest part of the year. Your location and mine are not locations where they naturally grow. Enjoy Nuccio's Gem. I wanted one but the local nursery ran out and I bought Nuccio's Pearl. Then the dogs helped to kill it so I replaced it with one similar to NG called White by the Gate. Now if I can only convince it that the weather will be warm for the next two weeks.... ;o) Note that there are some people that winter protect camellias (especially potted ones) in the hope of preventing this blooming problem and actual damage to branches. However, your white 6 footer is now getting to be a tad "large"/"big" for that. I sometimes prepare smaller shrubs like hydrangeas for winter but a 6' or taller camellia starts to push the envelope. I am talking about things like layers of horticultural fleece draped over bushes and secured to prevent being blown away... Does this help? Luis