Yuletide camellia

Sun

Partial shade, ideally morning sun and afternoon shade. Tolerates more sun in mild climates if the roots stay moist; shelter from cold, drying winds.

Water

Keep evenly moist but never waterlogged, especially during establishment and while flower buds develop in summer. Established plants tolerate short dry spells, but prolonged drought reduces flowering.

Soil

Acidic, humus-rich, well-drained soil, ideally pH 5.5-6.5. Use ericaceous potting compost in containers where garden soil is alkaline.

Height

6-10 ft (1.8-3 m)

Spread

6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m)

Flowers

Single red flowers with golden-yellow stamens in late autumn and early winter; timing and duration depend on local weather.

Foliage

Small, glossy, dark green leaves form a dense evergreen framework.

Growth

Slow to moderate

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• 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

   2.6 ft (0.79 m)

3. After 2 years

   4 ft (1.1 m)

4. After 3 years

   5 ft (1.4 m)

5. After 5 years

   6 ft (2 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 spells, particularly through summer when the next flower buds are forming.
• Apply 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of leaf mould or composted bark over the root zone, keeping it clear of the stems.
• Feed lightly with a camellia or ericaceous fertiliser in spring, following the label; avoid late-season feeding.
• Use rainwater where practical if your tap water is hard, especially for container plants.
• Protect container roots from severe frost and make sure drainage holes remain open.

Pruning. Prune just after flowering, removing dead or crossing branches and shortening straggly shoots to a leafy side shoot. Avoid routine summer or autumn pruning, which removes developing flower buds.

Spring

Plant when soil is workable and severe frost has passed, keeping the root ball shallow.

Spring

Feed lightly and refresh the mulch without covering the stem base.

Summer

Water during dry spells to support developing flower buds; check leaf undersides for scale insects.

Autumn

Check soil moisture and shelter container plants from strong, drying winds as flowering approaches.

Late autumn

Remove fallen flowers and check drainage after prolonged rain.

Winter

Protect pots during severe freezes and prune lightly once flowering has finished.

• Place beside a sheltered entrance or path where the cool-season flowers can be seen close up.
• Use as an evergreen backdrop for ferns, hellebores and other shade-tolerant plants.
• Train against a sheltered wall or fence as an informal espalier.
• Grow in a large container with ericaceous compost on an otherwise alkaline-soil site.
• Plant as an informal flowering screen, allowing enough room to avoid frequent clipping.

Garden styles it suits: Japanese, Woodland, Traditional, Modern courtyard, Southern and Winter interest.

Plant it with: Japanese pieris, Azaleas, Hellebores, Japanese painted fern, Christmas fern and Japanese forest grass.

Wildlife: The open flowers offer pollen and nectar to bees and other insects active in mild autumn or winter weather. Dense evergreen growth provides shelter for small birds.

• Scale insects: inspect leaf undersides for insects and yellow mottling; treat with a horticultural oil labelled for camellias, covering the undersides and avoiding hot or freezing weather.
• Root rot: wilting despite wet soil can indicate damaged roots; improve drainage, stop overwatering and replant in a raised position if the site stays saturated.
• Yellow leaves with green veins: alkaline soil or hard irrigation water can limit iron uptake; check soil pH and drainage, use rainwater, and move container plants into suitable ericaceous compost.
• Bud drop or frost-damaged flowers: prevent summer drought and waterlogging, shelter from cold winds, and cover a small plant temporarily with horticultural fleece during a forecast hard frost.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. No part is recognised as poisonous, although eating leaves or flowers may cause mild stomach upset and the plant is not grown as food.

• Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica)

  Usually has larger, thicker leaves and larger flowers, most often opening from late winter into spring rather than autumn; flowering seasons can overlap.

• Setsugekka camellia (Camellia sasanqua 'Setsugekka')

  Also flowers in autumn, but its flowers are white with ruffled petals and yellow stamens rather than the single red flowers of 'Yuletide'.

Camellia honours the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, while 'Yuletide' refers to its flowering around the Christmas season in suitable Northern Hemisphere climates.

Propagation. Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer and root them in a free-draining acidic medium with humidity and gentle bottom heat. Grafting is another option; seedlings will not reliably reproduce 'Yuletide'.

Accepted botanical name

Camellia sasanqua

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Japan and Nansei-shoto.

Measured

Average height 64 cm.

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