How to Grow and Care for Japanese Camellia

Camellias are popular plants with showy blooms, and the Japanese camellia is a favorite. This compact, long-lived shrub has dark, glossy foliage with beautiful flower clusters in a wide range of colors in the winter and early spring, attracting pollinators and songbirds. Caring for this popular shrub is tricky because it is quite picky about its growing conditions and it is also prone to pests and diseases. Below USDA zone 7, Japanese camellia can be grown and overwintered in pots. 

Although Japanese camellias are slow-growing, they are often used as an informal screen. There are thousands of varieties with various bloom times, sizes, and petal forms. Some varieties lend themselves to be trained as an espalier specimen to grow up against a wall or fence. The shrub has thick roots, but they are not invasive. The roots grow near the surface and do not threaten nearby homes or structures.

Japanese camellia is best planted in the spring; in southern locations, fall is also possible.

Japanese Camellia Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing a Japanese camellia: 

• Select a location in partial shade where the shrub is sheltered from winter winds.
• Make sure the soil is slightly acidic (do a soil test before planting).
• Provide the plant with consistent moisture.
• Fertilize with a high-potassium fertilizer during the summer months.
• Mulch around the base in the fall to insulate the roots against the cold.

Light

Japanese camellias produce the best blooms in light shade. They need protection from the intense, direct afternoon sun.

Soil

These shrubs have very specific soil requirements. A well-drained, nutrient-rich, moist, and slightly acidic soil is a must for successfully growing Japanese camellia. If your soil does not meet these conditions, grow it in a container.

Water

Japanese camellias need consistent moisture (but not to the point of saturation) to produce healthy abundant blooms. Mulching around the base helps retain moisture.

Temperature and Humidity

Sudden temperature changes are detrimental to growing Japanese camellia. The plant tolerates temperatures as low as 10 degrees F but only for short periods.

Select the site carefully and ensure it has adequate shelter against cold winter winds.

Fertilizer

If you want to see many healthy blooms on your Japanese camellia, apply a high-potassium fertilizer monthly during the summer. In the spring, use a slow-release nitrogen-rich fertilizer, as this will promote healthy, dark foliage. It's even possible to find camellia-specific fertilizers in some garden centers. For the amounts to use, follow product label instructions.

Types of Japanese Camellia

Of all the camellia species, Camellia japonica is the most widely grown and has the most cultivars with various bloom times, sizes, and petal forms. Popular options include:

• 'Betty Sheffield Supreme': a midseason-bloomer with large white petals that have red and pink blotched borders.
• 'Carter's Sunset': large, semi-double pink peony-form flowers and a long bloom season.
• 'Korean Fire': certain to catch the eye with its funnel-shaped red flowers. More cold-hardy than many cultivars, it is hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9.
• 'Kramer's Surprise': a delightfully fragrant cultivar with brilliant red peony-form flowers.

Pruning

Unless you want to train your Japanese camellia, it won't need much pruning, and too much may spoil the attractive natural shape. Only remove dead or damaged branches or long, heavy shoots right after the flowering season. This stimulates branching and prevents the accidental removal of new flower buds.

Propagating Japanese Camellia

Home gardeners successfully propagate Camellia japonica through the layering technique, where the new plant stays attached to the original one while roots are forming.

1. In the spring, after the shrub has started growing, select a healthy lower stem that is long enough to reach the ground.
2. Bend the stem down to the ground and mark the spot where the stem is meeting the ground. Using a sharp knife, nick the surface of the stem in that spot all around the stem’s circumference. Make sure not to cut all the way through.
3. Make a second cut all around, 1 inch below the first cut. Carefully remove the bark between the two cuts. Usually, peeling off the bark automatically removes the green cambium layer below the bark. If it doesn’t, scrape it off.
4. Dust the wounded area with rooting hormone.
5. Bury the stem in the ground and secure it with wire or a rock.
6. Keep the area moist but not wet. After a network of roots has been established over the growing season, sever it from the parent plant and replant it elsewhere.

How to Grow Japanese Camellia From Seed

As most Japanese camellias are cultivars and propagating them from seed does not produce a plant that is true to the parent, growing them from seed is not recommended.

Potting and Repotting Japanese Camellia

Camellias thrive in pots. The container will require ample drainage holes and a well-draining soil mixture, such as a camellia or azalea potting mix. You can also make your own mix from bark, sand, sphagnum moss, pumice stone, and compost. 

Like all container plants, potted Japanese camellia needs more frequent watering than the shrub in the landscape. However, it does not tolerate wet feet or soggy soil.

Fertilize it regularly between April and September, except when temperatures are above 90 degrees F.

Repot the plant every two to three years to a larger container with fresh potting mix as the roots and plant outgrow the container.

Overwintering

In a southern climate with mild winters, Japanese camellia can remain outdoors during the winter. If you planted the shrub in a protected spot, all you need to do is cover the soil with a thick, mounded layer of dry leaves and pine needles to insulate the roots from freezing temperatures. Camellias that are in a more exposed location should be covered with a burlap or canvas protective fence until spring arrives.

In northern areas, Japanese camellia should be grown in a container and overwintered indoors. Keep it in a controlled environment where temperatures do not exceed 55 degrees F, otherwise, flower buds will drop. Avoid excessive humidity and sudden temperature changes.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Japanese camellias are susceptible to fungal diseases. Shrubs affected by petal blight fungus have petals that are browning from the edges to the center. Remove all the diseased plant parts promptly to contain the spread of the fungus. Other potential diseases are leaf spot, anthracnose, viruses, black mold, cankers, and root rot.

Pests seeking out Japanese camellia include aphids, planthoppers, as well as spider mites. Scale insects sometimes infest the plant in milder regions, causing premature bud drop. Preventing your plant from becoming drought-stressed with enough water in the dry season helps to minimize this problem.

How to Get Japanese Camellia to Bloom

Bloom Months

The flowering time depends on the variety. Japanese camellia blooms as early as October and as late as March.

How Long Does Japanese Camellia Bloom?

The flowers usually last three to four weeks.

What Do Japanese Camellia Flowers Look and Smell Like?

The flowers of Japanese camellia grow in clusters. Depending on the variety, they range considerably in size, from miniature (1.5 inches) to huge (5 inches), as well as in shape (single, double, etc.) and color. Not all varieties are fragrant; those that are grown for their fragrance have a sweet, floral smell that is often likened to jasmine.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Poor flowering may be caused by too much sun and frigid temperatures. In addition to providing the proper temperature and light conditions, applying fertilizer for acid-loving plants that is low in nitrogen and high in potassium is key to promoting flowering.

Caring for Japanese Camellia After It Blooms

If your camellia needs pruning, do this promptly after the bloom, which avoids accidentally removing next year's flower buds. 

Deadheading Japanese Camellia Flowers

Removing the faded flowers is optional. It will keep the plant neat and makes room for new flowers but it does not encourage the plant to produce more flowers. In fact, the plant often produces more flower buds than it has energy to open, and those buds naturally drop. To support this process, remove all but one bud from the cluster, which may also help to increase the bloom size.

Common Problems With Japanese Camellia

Bud Drop

Some flower bud drop is normal for Japanese camellia but premature or excessive bud drop is often a sign of insufficient moisture during the summer months, when precipitation is commonly low. Make sure to keep the soil moist but not saturated.

Yellow Leaves

If you notice the leaves on your shrub are turning yellow with green veins, it could be a sign that the soil is too alkaline. Do a soil test to determine the pH and if it turns out to be above 6.0, add iron chelates to the soil, or use a fertilizer formulated to correct iron deficiency.