Camellia lovers?

Do we have any camellia buffs here? I'm certainly not, although they do very well at my place with absolutely zero intervention from me.

I've got some questions about the possibility of a C. japonica hedge. All the nursery people look at me like I'm mental and say "sasanquas are the ones you use for hedging"... but I need something that will do well in mostly shade. Annoyingly, all the literature I can find on the topic is foreign, and we all know that 'full sun' in the UK or the States is NOT the same as full sun here, etc etc, so I don't know if it's relevant/reliable.

In the spirit of Trial and Error, and in line with my commitment to embrace Living With a Disposable Income (as we ladies are wont to do), I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway, unless I hear that C. sasanqua thrives in medium shade in Oz, in which case I'll do that instead.

I think the sasanqua will do fine in the semi-shade. It's not that they prefer full sun, it's that they tolerate it more. I have a sasanqua 'Lil Lianne' that does just fine in the mostly shade spot. (I really like that range)

Camellia Sasanquas the way to go .. I'm not a big fan of camellias here , I only have one and that's they only one that I would ever have , its called volunteer . mine is mostly in shade and its doing great


good luck

We have susanqua hedges growing behind some of the gardens and some that have been left as trees forming a tall hedge.

The experts told us we could not grow them up our way (they said the same about roses) and not to try. We have proved them wrong so don't always go by what others tell you.

Rose Ann that we have grown into an arch. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

We have also grown heaps of OP seedlings some of which have come out quite nice.

Thanks folks! Your camellia arch looks great Gary!

I like the Paradise range too Autumn Damask, especially Paradise Pearl. How much sun does your get? The spot I'm looking at gets no direct sun, and maybe an hour of dappled sun in the very late afternoon. I just don't want them to get all leggy and stingy with bloom.

Volunteer is pretty Jordan, but I think it's a japonica? I can see why you would like it though - looks like a rose! Hahahaha

Muscovy, I have a short informal hedge of Japonicas, Debbie and some other pinks, about 8 -10ft tall. They are growing where they are mostly in shade, but some midday sun in summer. They can take cutting back but I haven't needed to do that much with mine. They look absolutely glorious when in full bloom. I am planting another japonica hedge along the front front drive, Brushfields Yellow.
I used to loathe camellias but have come around to being a fan. They always look fresh and green, easy to grow, no pests and fab when in flower. A pretty good rap for plants that like the shade I reckon. I only have one sasanqua, an old one, that is a bit meh. I find they tend to legginess, but then again I'm lazy. I Love that arch Gary!

I want to do a Brushfield's Yellow hedge too! Great minds, eh? I think it will look amazing in winter and early spring with my Earlicheer and other daffs - hopefully it will tie in nicely (in about 10 years when the camellias are big enough to put on a show).

Thanks Silky, that's exactly what I wanted to hear where are you going to source your plants from? I saw some 100mm potted japonicas at Bunnies for about $5 or something ridiculous, didn't see any Brushfield's but they did have a pretty little one called 'Desire' that I might try in another spot.

A few Photos from our collection. We have Sasanqua, Japonicas, reticulata and various other varieties. The photos are a couple of years old. I probably just seem to take them for granted and don't bother too much about them. We have a "wild" (ie untrimmed) hedge running up our driveway and behind the boarders. This would be about 120 metres long running up to where the shed is. Above the shed is a hedge of the Sasanqua Lucinda which we trimmed to about 1.8 metres a couple of years ago.

The Japonicas do okay in the shade up here though we don't have too many varieties of these.

The reticulatas are usually larger with larger flowers. Some of these are doing quite well while others have struggled.

There are other species and hybrids as well. Lee loves Rosaflora and she has a small hedge of these in a garden circle near the carport plus in the mixed boarders in front of the house. They get covered in pink flowers and are indeed quite lovely.

The Susanqua seed readily and we have about 60 in pots tat we are going to put along our boundary fence. There are also currently about 500000 (well maybe not that many but there is lots) seedlings coming up in the garden. They are quite fertile the Sasanqua.

Red Japonica hedge along the front of the house. The rail on the verandah along here is about 3 metres off the ground and we have to prune the japonicas off each year.
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Margaret Davis
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Red Japonica
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Sensuous. We have a hedge of about 15 of these along a section of the driveway. They flower for about 6months or longer
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Sensuous Flower
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Tinsie
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One of OP Susanqua Camellias we have.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Another OP Seedling
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Fragrant Pink
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Early flowering Susanqua (starts in February)[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

You can just see the Lucinda Hedge (and some of its flowers) in this photo
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Balinbear, that's quite a collection you've got there, but then again you've got this superb oasis of a garden so what would I expect? I'm increasingly impressed by your garden and I'm sooo envious. If my little patch could one day be half as gorgeous I would be very happy!
Muscovy, we really do think alike as I also have a couple of Desire camellias too! They are part of my back hedge. They grow quickly until they reach about the 2m mark and then start to fill out. They were producing a good show pretty much straight away so I don't think you'll have to wait 10 years. Brushfield's Yellow should look lovely with those bulbs. Hope there's enough sun for the bulbs to strut their stuff!
I think you must be a bit like me. I just like to try things that I see in my head. If it works, great, if not, start again. That's the beauty of gardening I think. Go ahead with your japonicas, your hedge will be beautiful. Another plus is that they are tough plants and quite drought resistant I've found.

Love the camellia collection, Balinbear. And, yes I was surprised to find that camellias do well up here - although the drought has done some serious damage to one of our old established Sasanquas competing with large trees. I have always dreamt of putting in a Brushfields yellow hedge ever since I researched this for a garden design at uni many years ago. Have one Brushfields now that has survived the drought so maybe I'll propagate it and put in a hedge for my grandchildren to enjoy one day.

Gary, what can I say? Your garden is just incredible. What else have you got hidden away in there? I think we need a "virtual tour"!

Ahh Silky, I feel less crazy knowing that you do that sort of stuff too. Or perhaps we're both crazy? That's fine by me too, hehe. But I'm coming to understand that if I follow the rules of gardening all the time I wouldn't have much of a garden, because the site here is pretty challenging in terms of shade, solid clay soil, and a sloping site. So I just have to have a crack or it will be only buffalo grass and pittosporum for me! No thanks.

Ha, buffalo grass here too. If only all my garden plants were as tough and tenacious as this blasted weed.  And pittosporum too. I have one monster out the front that I mistakenly nurtured (thought it was a self sown camellia seedling!) Now I can't even kill it!
Muscovy do you have any rhodos? I love them when they are in flower, can't grow them here, I've managed to kill several over the years.

There's one rhododendron here that was planted by the previous owner. It's in full shade, it's leggy, and it's never flowered. I'm going to rip it out next week. All my neighbours have lovely rhododendrons though. I think the secret is that they actually need at least half a day of direct sun, no fertiliser, and moist heavy soil (at least that's what they get around here, and they're magnificent).

rhododendrons. Now that is one plant we cannot grow (we have tried). We have azaleas but the lace bug gets them and they always look a mess.

We shifted most of them down into the bush near the dam where we can see the flowers but not the bushes.

Would love to grow rhodos. We have the soil for it ( = acid) although they would probably prefer more organic matter. Too dry and windy here though. Maybe a few more years and then I'll be able to find a nook to squeeze one in.
They grow feral in the north of England. (Under trees so not exactly getting lots of direct sun)

Oh wow, I had no idea rhodos were so tricky. What a pain! My next door neighbour has a lovely big rhodo that I think might be King George, and it's so stunning that I thought I might put one in too... But perhaps I'll be better of just enjoying his over the fence!

Well Silky, I have 10 newly purchased Brushfield's Yellow in 6" pots sitting in my driveway, ready to go in! I've got to say, Silky and Rosebud, the foliage on them is so so so lovely, nicer than any of my other japonicas. It's super glossy, as if it's been lacquered, the older growth is a deep emerald green and the new growth is a rich apple green. I think we should all go ahead and put in hedges of them, just based on the foliage!

I've just planted 300 daffodils in the front bed, but I have to dig out an 8m row of agapanthus before I can plant my camellias. Backbreaking, but hopefully worth it.

On that note - anyone in Melbourne want some purple agapanthus?

Oh Gary, Tinsie looks spectacular, mind blowing.   

Haha, agapanthus? No thanks I have enough of them here. They have their place, flourishing in tough conditions, and I do like the sea of mauve blue when in flower, but I hate having to cut spent flower stalks. And they are a bugger to dig out! Good luck with that job muscovy. Just tell yourself that your sore back will be worth it when your camellias are in. Yes the foliage on BY is lovely, will make a great foil for the flowers eventually.

Haha, tell me about it! I'll put them up on Gumtree in the Free to Good Home section, someone will want them no doubt.

One of the Reticulatas

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whole lot of other Camellias

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Ahh Gary, your garden continues to amaze me. Is that Debutante blooming alongside your sasanquas? Amazing. And WHAT is that delicious formal double with the white centre and pink outer petals? I am in love.

No we have never had Debutante. These are older photos. I will take some more photos when I get a chance.

Yay! More photos of Gary's garden!

I planted my camellia hedge, so I will now try to post some pictures for you all.

The site. You can see the 8 metre trench I amended at the too of that little muddy slope, it's the black strip. You can also see the 200 agapanthus plants a dug out of that slope... Hah.
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The little plants.
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The mud.
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I fell over a lot. But it is done!