I’ll never forget the day I successfully air layered my ‘Donation’ camellia for the first time. That plant had been in my garden for nearly fifteen years—a reliable, generous bloomer with those stunning pink semi-double flowers. For years, I’d watched visitors admire it and ask if they could buy a cutting. But I’d been nervous … Read more
Last spring, I was transplanting a ten-year-old Camellia japonica ‘Elegans’ to a sunnier spot in my zone 8a garden. As I loosened the root ball from its pot, I was struck by something I’d seen hundreds of times before—yet never stopped marveling at. The roots didn’t plunge deep into the soil like an oak or … Read more
I’ll never forget the afternoon I spotted those white fluffy masses clinging to the stems of my beloved ‘Donation’ camellia. At first, I thought it was mould or some harmless debris. But my stomach sank when I realized what I was looking at: cottony camellia scale. I’d been growing camellias for over two decades, yet … Read more
I’ve seen it happen dozens of times in gardens across North Carolina and Georgia: a gardener eager to tidy up their camellias reaches for a hedge trimmer in late spring and gives the whole plant a quick shear. It looks fantastic immediately—neat, compact, uniform. Then comes autumn, and nothing happens. No buds. No flowers. Just … Read more
Ten years ago, I stood beneath my oldest camellia—a magnificent ‘Donation’ japonica that had dominated a shady corner of my garden since before I bought the house—and felt a twinge of guilt. Here was this architectural marvel, heavy with rose-pink blooms every winter, and directly beneath it was bare, compacted earth. Not a single thing … Read more
The first time I tried growing camellias in clay soil, I nearly gave up on the whole endeavor. My beloved ‘Professor Charles S. Sargent’ — a rich crimson double japonica I’d been coveting for years — sat sulking in a waterlogged bed for two full seasons before I finally admitted the problem wasn’t the plant. … Read more
Years ago, I nearly lost a prized ‘Donation’ camellia — a stunning Williamsii hybrid I’d waited three years to bloom — because the soil pH was completely wrong. The leaves turned yellow. Growth stalled. She sulked in that border for two whole seasons before I figured out what was happening. That experience taught me everything … Read more
Some of my happiest gardening moments have happened in the dappled shade beneath a stand of old oaks. That is where I first discovered just how perfectly shade garden camellias can transform a difficult, underused space into something genuinely breathtaking. I remember standing under those oaks about fifteen years ago, frustrated by the patchy, moss-riddled … Read more
A few winters ago, I nearly lost my favourite container-grown camellia. She was a magnificent ‘Nuccio’s Gem’ — a formal double white Japonica I’d been nurturing in a terracotta pot for six years. One hard freeze, a forgotten layer of fleece, and a pot that drained poorly nearly finished her off. She survived, just barely. … Read more
A few springs ago, I made the mistake of planting a gorgeous ‘Kramer’s Supreme’ japonicaall by itself in the centre of a new border. It bloomed magnificently. However, the rest of the season it just sat there — a dark, glossy lump surrounded by bare mulch. That embarrassing patch of empty garden taught me everything … Read more
