With glossy evergreen leaves and cheerful winter blooms, camellias have earned their reputation as mainstays of many Pacific Northwest gardens. When their plump buds burst, the flowers are stunning and long-lasting beacons in the winter landscape. Follow along with this guide on all things camellias to learn how to grow them and what they can do for your garden. Whether you’re camellia-curious or need some convincing, we can’t sing enough praises about these resilient multi-purpose plants.

All camellias are native to East Asia, where they’ve been cultivated for over three thousand years for their four-season beauty. They first made their way into English estate gardens via the hunt for the prized Camellia sinensis — the source of tea leaves — but the elegance, utility, and easy care of the ornamental varieties quickly made camellias a garden staple all over the world. Today, thousands of cultivars boast an impressive array of flower forms and colors that can be grown together for continuous blooms throughout the coldest season of the year.

Camellia sasanqua — Just as nearly every other flowering plant enters the season of rest, Camellia sasanquas erupt with bright late-autumn and early-winter blooms. They thrive in partial sun and are typically more compact than japonicas.

Camellia japonica — Awakening from the lull of late winter and early spring, Camellia japonicas deliver long-lasting flushes of intricate and densely-petalled blooms. They are shade-tolerant and typically larger than sasanquas, both in overall form and the size of the leaves and flowers.

Camellia sinensis — Though Camellia sinensis shares glossy evergreen appeal and attractive blooms with its more ornamental counterparts, it’s best known as the tea plant. The tender young leaves can be harvested straight from your garden, then steeped fresh or cured for an aromatic tea.

Camellia lutchuensis — This species is less common, but its small white flowers stand out for their sweet smell. Blooming in late winter, Camellia lutchensis is often considered to be the most fragrant of all camellias. Many hybrids, like the soft pink ‘Fairy Blush,’ are crossed with C. lutchuensis to capture that lovely fragrance

One of the camellia’s most captivating features is the range of flower types, ranging from the simple forms resembling a wild rose to astoundingly detailed geometric patterns.

Single — Simple blooms with up to eight petals and prominent stamens for easy pollinator access

Double — ‘Double’ blooms have several sub-types, but they are all generally denser blooms with multiple rows of ruffled petals

Formal Double — Elegant geometric patterns with multiple rows of neat petals, completely obscuring the stamens

Anemone or Elegans — Eye-catching flowers with large, smooth outer petals and a dense cluster of smaller petals and stamens at the center

Camellia flowers are generally red, pink, or white. Varieties like ‘Diakagura’ bloom with impressive blotches of red and white, while ‘Carter’s Sunburst’ combines a muted pink base with flecks of white. Some unusual camellia varieties approach purple tones, while others carry a soft buttermilk-yellow hue.

Light

As understory shrubs in their native environment, camellias tend to prefer partial sun conditions like morning sun or the dappled shade of surrounding trees. Sasanquas can tolerate more light than japonicas, but all varieties should avoid full exposure to the afternoon sun. With so many flowering shrubs craving full sun, this makes camellias an excellent candidate for shady areas of the yard.

Soil

Camellias enjoy rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5, so they are well-suited for our slightly acidic native soils in the Pacific Northwest. A layer of acidic mulch like fir bark will help retain moisture, insulate roots against cold weather, and increase organic matter as it decomposes. Camellias are sensitive to ‘wet feet,’ so ensure good drainage and plant the root ball slightly above the surrounding soil so that it will not sit in a depression once it settles.

Water

In the first few years of caring for your camellia, water regularly throughout the growing season. After 2 - 3 years, established camellias are quite drought-tolerant and rarely need supplemental watering.

Fertilizer

Fertilize during vegetative growth during the spring and summer, after your camellias have stopped flowering but before they set their buds. E. B. Stone and other brands have created fertilizers specially formulated for camellias and other acid-loving flowering shrubs like azaleas and rhododendrons.

If eye-catching winter color and lush evergreen foliage captivates your imagination, camellias have so much to offer. The classic appeal of these evergreens means that some consider camellias an ‘old-fashioned’ garden plant, but their versatility tells a different story. Camellias can be trained into a wide variety of forms, so there’s a camellia for nearly every space.

Perhaps the most traditional form is a heavily-pruned, orb-shaped shrub that many associate with formal gardens. Framing the porch entrance to the 1926 farmhouse at the heart of Cornell Farm, our pair of heirloom Camellia japonicas have been lovingly shaped in this style for over 75 years. Due to their shallow root systems and attractive evergreen foliage, camellias are frequently employed as foundation plantings to soften architectural lines and tie buildings into the landscape. They make elegant living fences that can be pruned into different heights for tidy rectangular hedges and towering privacy screens alike.

Heavy pruning is by no means required. Left closer to their natural habit, camellias’ airy branching creates a more naturalistic look. Depending on the variety and how you care for them, camellias can range from low-growing shrubs to small evergreen trees. This means that they’re adaptable to many niches in your garden — even those tricky dry shade spots. 

If you’re working with a small space, camellias are incredible multi-taskers. They can grow beautifully in containers, especially if you start with a smaller plant and choose compact varieties. Espaliered camellias can create a lovely evergreen wall for your balcony. Their beauty can even be enjoyed indoors: cut branches can be forced to bloom inside and the flowers look ethereal floating in a bowl of water.

When few other plants are in bloom, camellias are a favorite destination of our overwintering Anna’s hummingbird. The more ornate flower forms limit access to the stamens, but single-flowered varieties like ‘Yuletide’ and ‘Pink-A-Boo’ offer a nectar-rich winter food source for these tiny birds and other pollinators.

Perhaps it’s because they grow so well in the Pacific Northwest that camellias are often unsung garden staples. In our eyes, being considered “old-fashioned” is a testament to their resilience and generosity in our climate. Camellias are some of the most adaptable and multi-purpose plants in our landscaping arsenals — plus, thousands of cultivars with different growth habits and flower forms offer modern design inspiration for nearly any taste.