Professor Sargent camellia

Sun

Partial shade or filtered sunlight; gentle morning sun is suitable. Protect from hot afternoon sun, drying winds and early morning sun on frost-covered buds.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist but not waterlogged. Water deeply during dry spells, especially while flower buds develop in summer; container plants need more frequent checks.

Soil

Humus-rich, well-drained acidic soil, ideally pH 5.5-6.5. In chalky or alkaline gardens, grow in a container of ericaceous compost.

Height

10-15 ft (3-4.6 m)

Spread

6-10 ft (1.8-3 m)

Flowers

Deep red, densely petalled, peony-form flowers from late winter through spring; timing varies with climate.

Foliage

Evergreen. Glossy, leathery, dark green leaves with finely toothed edges; attractive throughout the year.

Growth

Slow to moderate; allow several years for a substantial shrub to develop.

Care needed

Medium

• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

2. After 1 year

   3 ft (1 m)

3. After 2 years

   5 ft (1.5 m)

4. After 3 years

   7 ft (2 m)

5. After 5 years

   10 ft (3 m)

About 7 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant with the top of the root ball level with, or slightly above, the surrounding soil; do not bury the stem base.
• Water deeply during dry weather, particularly in summer when next season's flower buds form.
• Apply 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of leaf mould or composted bark over the roots, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Feed lightly with a camellia or rhododendron fertiliser after flowering, following the label; avoid late-season feeding.
• Use rainwater where practical if your tap water is alkaline, especially for plants in containers.

Pruning. Prune just after flowering, removing dead or crossing branches and shortening overlong shoots to a healthy leaf or side branch. Avoid routine late-summer or autumn pruning, which removes developing flower buds.

Late winter

Enjoy the opening flowers; protect container roots and developing buds during severe freezes.

Spring

Collect fallen flowers promptly to reduce the carry-over of camellia petal blight.

After spring flowering

Prune only where needed, apply a light feed and refresh the mulch.

Summer

Water thoroughly during dry spells so developing flower buds do not dry out.

Late summer

Take semi-ripe cuttings if you want to propagate the cultivar.

Autumn

Check drainage and shelter before winter; plant in mild districts while the soil is still warm.

• Use as a flowering specimen beside a sheltered entrance or patio where the winter and spring flowers are easily seen.
• Plant in a woodland-edge border with rhododendrons, ferns and hellebores for layered evergreen structure.
• Group several plants as an informal screen in a shaded, sheltered garden.
• Grow in a large container of ericaceous compost in an acidic-soil planting scheme or a garden with alkaline ground.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Japanese, Traditional, Southern, Winter interest and English country.

Plant it with: Rhododendrons, Japanese pieris, Hellebores, Japanese painted ferns, Epimediums and Japanese maples.

Wildlife: The dense evergreen growth offers shelter for small birds. Its densely double flowers provide less accessible pollen and nectar than single-flowered camellias.

• Yellow leaves with green veins: often caused by alkaline soil or water. Check soil pH and drainage; use ericaceous compost in containers and rainwater where possible.
• Bud drop or poor flowering: drought during summer bud formation, waterlogging or frost can be responsible. Maintain steady moisture, improve drainage and provide shelter.
• Camellia petal blight: flowers develop spreading brown patches and fall prematurely. Remove affected blooms and fallen flowers promptly, and replace contaminated surface mulch.
• Scale insects, including tea scale in warmer regions: inspect leaf undersides for scales and yellow mottling. Remove badly affected growth and use a locally approved horticultural oil according to its label.

Camellia japonica is not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. No part is recognised as seriously poisonous, though eating ornamental plant material may cause mild stomach upset.

• Sasanqua camellia (Camellia sasanqua)

  Usually flowers in autumn or early winter and has smaller leaves and generally smaller, less densely petalled flowers. Its petals commonly fall separately rather than as a whole bloom.

• Reticulata camellia (Camellia reticulata)

  Often has larger flowers and larger leaves with a conspicuous network of veins. Hybrids can be difficult to distinguish without a reliable plant label.

The cultivar honours Charles Sprague Sargent, the American botanist and first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum.

Propagation. Take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer and root them in a free-draining acidic medium with humidity and gentle bottom heat. Air layering is another option; seed will not reliably produce plants identical to this cultivar.

Accepted botanical name

Camellia japonica

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

China North-Central, China Southeast, Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto and Taiwan.

Measured

Average height 560 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.