Shrub (ericaceous)
How to grow camellias
Camellia japonica / C. × williamsii
Camellias flower from January to April, so where you put one matters more than anything else. Give it a sheltered spot in part shade facing west or north, never east, where morning sun ruins frosted flowers. Plant in September to October or March to April in acid, free-draining soil or a large pot of ericaceous compost, with the rootball slightly proud of the surface. Water well from July to September, when next year's buds form, or they drop unopened.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy (flowers frost-damaged)
- Position
- Part shade, sheltered from morning sun
- Soil
- Acid, humus-rich, moisture-retentive, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 5.0 to 6.5
- Water
- High in Jul to Sep when next year's buds form; rainwater
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting camellias
WhenPlant Sep to Oct or Mar to Apr; flowers Jan to Apr; buds set Jul to Sep
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Sep to Oct or Mar to Apr; camellias are never sold bare-root. Propagate by 8 to 10 cm semi-ripe cuttings in Jul to Sep with a 2 cm sliver of bark wounded at the base, rooted in 50:50 ericaceous compost and perlite at 18 to 20°C under a lid; expect 8 to 12 weeks to root and 3 to 4 years to flower. Layering a low branch in Apr is the easiest for a single plant.
Spacing and planting
Final size 2 to 4 m tall by 1.5 to 3 m wide after 10 to 15 years; plant 2 m apart or 1 m from a wall. Dig the hole twice the rootball width but no deeper, and set the rootball 2 to 3 cm proud of the soil, as deep planting kills. Excellent in a 45 to 60 cm pot of loam-based ericaceous compost, repotted every 3 years.
Varieties worth growing
- C. × williamsii 'Donation'
- Semi-double pink from February to April; free-flowering even in cooler gardens, and it drops its spent flowers cleanly instead of holding them brown.
- C. × williamsii 'Debbie'
- Peony-form deep pink flowers on an upright plant; like all the williamsii hybrids it sheds dead blooms and suits northern gardens.
- C. japonica 'Adolphe Audusson'
- The classic blood-red semi-double with gold stamens, March to April, on a strong glossy bush.
- C. japonica 'Nobilissima'
- White peony-form flowers from December or January in a sheltered spot; the one to grow for the earliest bloom.
- C. sasanqua 'Narumigata'
- Autumn-flowering, October to December, single white flushed pink and scented. Sasanquas want more sun than other camellias and a warm wall.
Camellias month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Early japonicas open. Fleece open flowers on frost nights.
- February
Flowering. Pick up fallen blooms.
- March
Flowering. Plant. Top-dress or repot container plants. Renovate old, overgrown plants to 60 to 90 cm.
- April
Plant. Feed and prune as flowering ends. Mulch. Layer a low branch.
- May
Finish pruning. Water new plants weekly.
- June
Second light feed. Spray for scale if needed.
- July
Water generously with rainwater: flower buds are forming. No feed after this month. Semi-ripe cuttings.
- August
Keep watering; this is the month that decides next spring. Nematodes on pots.
- September
Keep watering if dry. Plant.
- October
Plant. Sasanquas start flowering.
- November
Nothing to do. Raise pots on feet and move them to shelter.
- December
Wrap pots in a hard frost. Sasanquas still in flower.
Feeding camellias
A light feeder. Feed after flowering and once more in June, at half rate, then stop: feeding after July is a recognised cause of bud drop. Never lime.
Low, an ericaceous (acid) feed after flowering only; never lime.
Feeding plan
April, after flowering, beds
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
Half the label rate: 35 to 55 g/m² under the canopy, watered in. A bush 1.5 m across covers about 1.8 m², so 60 to 95 g. This is not an ericaceous feed and does not acidify.
April
Leaf mould or composted bark
A 5 cm mulch over the root area, kept clear of the stem.
June, beds
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
25 g/m², about 45 g for a bush 1.5 m across. Nothing after the end of July.
April and June, pots
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
1 to 2 g per litre of compost on the surface, half the label top-dress rate: 40 to 80 g for a 45 cm pot (about 40 litres). Use the lower figure in June.
Autumn or early spring, only if a test shows pH above 6.5
To lower the pH by one unit: 55 g/m² on sand, 110 g/m² on loam in two doses six months apart, 175 g/m² on clay in three doses; never more than 80 g/m² in one go.
Dr Forest has no ericaceous feed. The plan uses the Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6 at half the label rate as the nearest fit; it is not an ericaceous feed and does not acidify. Mycorrhizal Fungi Powder is not recommended for ericaceous plants.
Signs to watch
Yellow leaves with dark green veins on the newest growth
Iron and manganese locked out by lime or hard water
Rainwater, sulphur chips, an ericaceous feed with chelated iron
Older leaves yellow between the veins and drop
Magnesium short on acid sand
Epsom salts at 20 g per litre as a foliar spray in May
Fat buds that drop unopened in Feb to Mar
Water stress in Aug to Sep the year before
Ste
Pests, diseases and problems
Black sooty film on the upper leaf surface in winter and spring; flat oval scales and white waxy egg bands underneath
Cushion scale; the soot is a mould growing on its honeydew
Wipe the soot off with a damp cloth and spray the leaf undersides with a plant soap in June and July, when the young scales hatch. Repeat for a couple of summers.
Flowers turn brown from the centre outwards and fall whole, with a grey or white ring of fungus where the petals join
Camellia petal blight
Collect and bin every fallen and browning flower; do not compost them. Renew a deep bark mulch each year to bury the resting fungus.
Open flowers go brown and mushy after a frosty night, worst on plants facing east
Frost, made worse by fast thawing in morning sun
Plant against a west or north-facing wall, drape fleece over open flowers on frost nights, and choose williamsii hybrids, which replace damaged blooms quickly.
Leaf edges notched; a pot plant wilts though the compost is moist
Vine weevil, adults on the leaves and grubs on the roots
Nematodes watered into pots in late August or September and again in April.
Irregular bright yellow or cream blotches on a few leaves, plant otherwise healthy
Camellia yellow mottle virus
Harmless. Cut out affected shoots if you dislike them, and do not take cuttings from that plant.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Flowers on the previous year's wood, so prune only straight after flowering in Apr to May: shorten leggy shoots by a third and thin congested growth to let light in. Old plants renovate well, cut to 60 to 90 cm in Mar and refed. Water pots generously Jul to Sep, when next year's buds form; a dry spell then gives bud drop in Feb. In a hard frost drape fleece over open flowers; the plant itself needs no prot
Good to knowKeep moist in late summer when next year's buds form; avoid east-facing spots, where frosted buds thaw too fast.
Growing camellias in pots
Camellias are excellent in pots and this is the answer on chalk. Start in a pot a few centimetres wider than the rootball and move up in stages to 45 to 60 cm; use a loam-based ericaceous compost and keep the rootball slightly proud. Water with rainwater where you can, and never let the pot dry between July and September. In winter the roots are the weak point: a frozen pot kills a plant that would be hardy in the ground, so wrap the pot or move it against the house. Repot every three years after flowering and top-dress in the years between.
Camellias: common questions
Why are the buds falling off my camellia?
Bud drop is nearly always caused by dry roots in July to September of the year before, when the buds were forming. Feeding after July, a frozen pot in winter and waterlogged compost do the same. Water generously in late summer and stop feeding by the end of July.
When should I prune a camellia?
Straight after flowering, in April or May. Camellias flower on the previous year's wood, so a summer or autumn prune removes the buds. Most need only leggy shoots shortened; an overgrown plant can be cut hard to 60 to 90 cm in March and will regrow, though it may not flower for a couple of years.
Can I grow a camellia in a pot?
Yes, a camellia will live for many years in a 45 to 60 cm pot of ericaceous compost. Keep it watered through late summer, protect the pot from hard frost, feed lightly in April and June and repot every three years.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.