Camellia Questions and Answers
Camellia Questions and Answers
How hardy are camellias that were introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum?
Quite hardy. The cold hardy camellias introduced by Dr. William Ackerman have experienced temperatures as low as -12o F without injury and are fully hardy in USDA hardiness Zone 6B. The hardiness of these hybrids comes from a seedling tea-oil camellia, Camellia oleifera, that was planted in Asian Valley in 1949. It was one of the few camellias to survive the brutally cold winters of the late 1970s and is itself a U.S. National Arboretum introduction named 'Lu Shan Snow'. Aside from hardy U.S. National Arboretum introductions, the Camellia Collection is home to other hardy camellias including cold hardy Camellia japonica varieties that bloom in March and hardy fall blooming Camellia sasanqua cultivars.
There are tiny white flecks along the veins of my camellia's leaves and it looks sickly and yellow. What's wrong with my plant?
It sounds like your camellia may have tea scale. This sucking insect settles along the leaves and sucks the sap out of the plant, stunting growth and causing the leaves to turn yellow. It is most problematic in the southern part of the zone in which camellias may be grown.
Tea scale is difficult to control because it has many overlapping generations throughout the year. The tiny, mobile crawlers are easily killed by spraying the plant with horticultural oil, but repeated treatment is needed to get rid of successive generations as they hatch.
I want to select the best possible location for my camellia. What conditions does it need?
Camellias grow best in rich, well drained slightly acidic soil that contains ample amounts of organic matter. They also need partial shade, and in the northern part of the region where they may be grown they need some protection from drying winter winds and extreme cold. A location with some morning shade is ideal since morning sun can cause the leaf tissue to heat up too rapidly, resulting in scorch. Camellias also need a dependable supply of soil moisture, especially when buds are maturing and the plants are beginning to flower. Drought or cold weather at this time may result in loss of most of the flower buds before they have a chance to open.
Source - The United States National Arboretum