Practical camellia care from two decades in the garden
Helen Pritchard · February 2, 2026
I’ve been growing camellias for over twenty years. In that time, I’ve made plenty of mistakes — wrong soil pH, wrong pruning timing, wrong everything. However, nothing frustrated me more than watching my potted camellias slowly decline despite my best…
Helen Pritchard · November 30, 2025
“Why is my pieris turning yellow when it’s sitting right next to a camellia that looks fantastic?” a woman at a regional plant swap asked me, holding up a phone photo of a sickly-looking shrub. Camellias hold that queenly status in the cool-season garden — glossy foliage, blooms shaped like small roses, elegance while everything … Read more
Helen Pritchard · November 27, 2025
A Centuries-Old Japanese Beauty Ritual for Hair That Actually Holds Up Picture hair that goes beyond a quick surface gleam—hair that’s fed from the inside and bounces back from damage instead of just hiding it. Long before modern hair products existed, Japanese women reached for one particular remedy, the same oil Samurai once rubbed into … Read more
Helen Pritchard · November 25, 2025
A Quieter Kind of Perfume: The Camellia’s Case for Restraint Hi there! I’m Helen Pritchard, a lifelong gardener in the Pacific Northwest, and I’ve spent over two decades growing camellias. With more than 200 named cultivars under my belt, including sasanquas, japonicas, and hybrids, I’ve learned a thing or two about these beautiful blooms. It’s … Read more
Helen Pritchard · November 22, 2025
Zero—that’s how many of the five senses most garden plans actually engage, since nearly every decision about color, texture, and shape is built entirely around what the eye can catch. Scent rarely enters the conversation at all. Yet a garden that only performs visually is missing an entire layer of experience, the kind that turns … Read more
Helen Pritchard · November 20, 2025
Yellow leaves dropping in October? Buds falling before they open? A healthy camellia bush shouldn’t behave this way, yet I see it happen in gardens across my zones 7b, 8a, and 8b more often than I’d like. Most camellia problems aren’t mysterious—they’re signals that something’s off balance. After tending over 200 named cultivars for two … Read more
Helen Pritchard · November 15, 2025
Picking the Right Camellias for Your Garden Get the soil right, choose a good spot, and stay consistent with watering, and camellias will reward you generously. Between the range of flower shapes, colors, and bloom windows on offer, it’s realistic to have some camellia or another flowering from September clear through May. I started my … Read more
Helen Pritchard · November 13, 2025
Camellia landscaping opens up more design possibilities than most gardeners realize. With evergreen leaves, showy flowers, and a growth habit that adapts to nearly any setting, camellias rank among the most versatile plants you can build a landscape around. Whether your growing space is a modest patio or a sprawling estate lot, camellia landscaping has … Read more