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Christmas camellias came early

These fall-flowering, fragrant varieties started opening in September

Red camellia blossom
Here's a cheery sight on a gray day: a Sasanqua camellia, in full bloom this week, and ever since early October. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

This season, Christmas camellias arrived early. Fortunately, there still are plenty to brighten our Sacramento holiday season.

Thanks to (mostly dry and warm) weather conditions, Camellia sasanqua started blooming locally in September. Several white-flowered bushes lining the K Street side of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament were in full bloom two weeks after Labor Day. By October, many heritage bushes in Capitol and McKinley parks starting blooming, too.

My own trio of Yuletide camellias started opening their flowers in early October and are still going strong. That’s more than eight weeks of flowers, and counting.

A close cousin to the February-blooming Japonica camellias, Sasanqua camellias usually blooms anytime from October to December. That’s also earned this species another nickname: Fall-blooming camellias.

White camellia
This Sasanqua camellia was blooming in October along the K Street side
of Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament downtown.


Compared to Japonica camellias, Sasanquas tend to be a little smaller but still impressive – often 4 to 5 inches across. The individual flowers may not last as long as Japonica blooms, but there are so many, the Sasanqua bush seems continuously covered with color.

Another plus for Christmas camellias: They’re intensely fragrant. (You can’t say the same for most Japonicas.) Supporting beneficial wildlife, these fall and early winter blooms also provide food to bees and hummingbirds when fewer flowers are available.

With a reputation for hardiness, Christmas camellias can thrive in spots where Japonicas struggle. They can tolerate drought conditions and colder temperatures. Although they prefer filtered shade or dappled sunlight, Christmas camellias also can take more full sun than Japonica camellias.

Once cold rain begins to pelt the flowers, Christmas camellias start dropping their flowers in bunches. Pick up and dispose of those fallen flowers to help prevent petal blight, a fungal disease that turns camellia petals prematurely brown. Otherwise, those spores will hang around and infect the Japonica camellias getting ready to flower in February.

As landscape plants, Christmas camellias are long-lived (often several decades) and easy care. After flowering, they need little if any pruning; just remove dead wood and gently shape if necessary.

Then, feed Sasanqua bushes with an acid-type fertilizer formulated for camellias, which prefer slightly acid soils.

But don’t feed your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming in March. Feeding while camellias are in bloom (or about to bloom) may cause them to drop unopened buds.

Thinking about a gift plant? Christmas camellias can be found in bloom now in local nurseries. These bushes can be transplanted after they finish bloom and will continue to bring smiles for many years to come.

For more about growing camellias locally: https://www.camelliasocietyofsacramento.org/



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Garden Checklist for week of June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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