Russell Stafford – Page 5

Good Garden Bittersweet and Bad

When it comes to garden plants gone wrong, few have gone wronger than oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Introduced from East Asia to Western horticulture in the early eighteenth century, this twining vine was widely planted for its ornamental clusters of yellow pea-sized fruits that open in fall to reveal brilliant-red interiors. Now it’s widely reviled for its ability to seed itself everywhere by way of those showy, bird-attracting fruits. Left unchecked, these seedlings can rapidly morph into tree-consuming monsters, smothering everything in their 60-foot reach. Visit just about any garden or woodland in the eastern U.S. and there they are, lurking in the undergrowth or clambering into the canopy.

Good and Bad Bittersweet

Native bittersweet with clusters of fruit — The native bittersweet has clusters of darker fruits at the stem tips.

This black sheep of the Celastrus tribe has also sullied our attractive and relatively well-behaved native species, Celastrus scandens. The showy orange fruits of American bittersweet are darker in hue than those of its Asian relative, and they appear in elongated bunches at the stem tips rather than in small clusters in the leaf axils. It grows more sedately than Celastrus orbiculatus, self-sows less enthusiastically, and coexists more harmoniously. Ironically, its more restrained growth also puts it at a competitive disadvantage in natural areas, where it is often smothered by its mayhem-making relative. The most apropos response to the rampages of oriental bittersweet is to grow MORE of our native bittersweet – not less.

Asian bittersweet berries — The invasive Asian bittersweet has berries that appear in branch.

You can create a refuge for American bittersweet by giving it a sizeable pergola or other structure for its 20- to 30-foot stems to twine around and through. Full sun to light shade and lean or average, well-drained soil are ideal (amend heavy or sandy soils by digging in a couple of inches of Fafard Manure Blend or Premium Natural and Organic Compost). American bittersweet also functions well as a shrubby ground cover for a slope, stone wall, or woodland edge. Plants flower and fruit on the current season’s growth, so pruning is best done in late winter and early spring, before bud-break.

Bittersweet Varieties

Most bittersweet plants bear only male or female flowers, with one of each typically required for fruiting to occur. One male plant (e.g., ‘Indian Brave’) will pollenize as many 10 females (such as ‘Indian Maiden’ and ‘Diana’). Two recently introduced cultivars – ‘Autumn Revolution’ and ‘Sweet Tangerine’ – are self-fruitful, requiring no companion. You can also purchase or grow unsexed seedlings. If so, plant several to increase the chances that at least one is a female. You can remove any superfluous males after they reach flowering size.

*Celastrus orbiculatus* looks very pretty trained along a strong pergola or trellis.

Harvest the inedible fruits for holiday decorations after their husks begin to split open in late fall. They make a dramatic addition to a Thanksgiving centerpiece or a Christmas wreath. You’ll also feel considerable satisfaction and pride knowing that they come from our beleaguered and deserving native bittersweet, rather than from its roguish, woodland-consuming cousin. To double down on your sense of satisfaction, leave some fruits so that the robins, mockingbirds, flickers, yellow-rumped warblers, ruffed grouse, and other native birds can share in the delight – and distribute the seed.

Chaste Tree For Bees, Butterflies, and Summer Blooms

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Think of chaste tree (Vitex agnus–castus) as an equally showy but less invasive alternative to the ubiquitous butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). A shrub or small tree that behaves as a dieback perennial in the coldest fringes of its USDA Hardiness Zones 5b to 9 hardiness range, it bears candelabras of lavender-blue flowers from summer into fall, enticing bees, butterflies, the occasional hummingbird, and other winged visitors. Attractive, five-fingered, gray-green leaves make a nice textural compliment to the steepled blooms. Adding to chaste tree’s allure is the pleasantly pungent fragrance of all its parts (as might be expected of a member of the mint family).

Chaste Tree Hardiness and Habit

Chaste tree with purple flowers — Chaste tree literally grows as a flowering tree in warmer zones. (Image by Cilias)

Chaste tree has long been grown in warmer regions of the U.S., where it typically forms a multi-stemmed, 15- to 20-foot tree. But it’s arguably an even better fit for gardens in USDA Zones 5 and 6, where it usually remains much more compact thanks to winter dieback. Like butterfly bush, in these colder regions, it resprouts from the base in late spring, mushrooming into a rounded, 3- to 6-foot shrub that flowers on new growth. Furthermore, unlike butterfly bush, it doesn’t seed itself prolifically after flowering (although self-sowing can be a problem in the Southwest and California).

Chaste Tree Growing Needs

Another point in chaste tree’s favor is its toughness. It takes readily to just about any sunny, not-too-soggy site; tolerates drought and salt; and rarely requires special treatment. In heavy clay soil it may benefit from the addition of F afard Premium Natural & Organic Compost for increased organic matter and drainage. Yet, despite its many merits, chaste tree has received relatively little attention from gardeners, perhaps because of the scarcity of cultivars selected for growth habit, flower color, and other traits.

Chaste Tree Varieties

Vitex agnus-castus 'Pink Pinnacle' with pink flower spires — *Vitex agnus-castus* ‘Pink Pinnacle’ has lovely pink flower spires.

All this is changing. A number of recently introduced cultivars mature as small to medium shrubs rather than as bushy mini-trees, broadening its versatility in Southern gardens. Additionally, these recent introductions come in a range of colors including pink, white, and various shades of blue. Wherever you garden, the possibilities for chaste tree are greater than ever – including as a summer-blooming centerpiece for containers.

Among the smallest of the new cultivars is ‘Blue Puffball’, which forms a dense, 4-foot mound covered with deep sky-blue spires. It makes an obvious choice for containers and perennial borders, perhaps in place of Caryopteris. As with all forms of chaste tree, flowering continues from summer to fall if spent blooms are regularly deadheaded. The somewhat larger ‘Blue Diddley’ offers spikes of the typical lavender-blue on densely borne stems that top out at 6 feet or so. Larger still, ‘Delta Blues’ produces spires of rich purple-blue flowers on 8- to 10-foot plants set with elegant, relatively narrow-fingered leaves.

Compact chaste trees of another color include ‘Pink Pinnacle’, prized for its abundant mid-pink spires on compact, mounded, 4- to 6-foot plants. Paler in color and larger in growth, ‘Blushing Spires’ bears shell-pink blooms and matures at 10 to 12 feet tall and wide. Compact white cultivars – such as the 8-foot-tall ‘Dale White’ – are especially rare (grab one if you see one!).

Of course, as mentioned earlier, in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 and 6 full-size cultivars such as white ‘Silver Spire’, deep lilac-blue ‘Shoal Creek’, and sapphire-blue ‘Le Comte’ behave as small to medium shrubs due to winterkill. In milder regions, they can be treated as small trees or maintained as shrubs via an annual hard pruning in early spring.

Other Vitex Species

Vitex negundo flowers — The flowers of *Vitex negundo* are less showy. (Image by Magnus Mansk)

Another excellent summer-bloomer for Zones 5 to 9 is chaste tree’s hardier and more obscure relative, Chinese chaste tree (V. negundo). Although less showy in flower, it surpasses chaste tree in its lacy, deeply incised foliage, which in varieties such as heterophylla rivals that of a fine Japanese maple. Hybrids between Vitex negundo and other Vitex species (as well as between chaste tree and its kin) are in the works, so stay tuned! Many more summer-blooming treasures for your garden (and containers) are yet to come from the Vitex tribe.

Hurricane Resistant Trees

If you live in hurricane country –which encompasses just about any place in the U.S. within 100 miles of the Atlantic seaboard – the wrong tree in the wrong place can pose a major threat to life and property. This is something to keep in mind when you plan and plant your garden.

Hurricane-Resistant Tree Features

Of course, stronger hurricanes cause greater damage, all else being equal. But the potential impact of even a major hurricane can be tempered if you plant strong-rooted, wind-resistant trees in favorable positions.

Whatever trees you choose, they’ll be more hurricane-resistant if their roots have ample room. A tree’s root system typically spreads well beyond its canopy. Give it less, and it will be relatively weakly anchored and poorly nourished. A 30-foot-wide tree in a 15-foot-wide planting area is asking to become hurricane fodder.

Fall allée of bald cypresses — A fall allée of bald cypresses shows that these strong, wetland trees also perform beautifully as street trees.

Soil depth also matters. If your soil is on the sandy or heavy side, your trees are likely to have relatively shallow roots. A yearly 1-inch mulch of Fafard^® Premium Topsoil will help their roots grow denser and deeper. Be sure to mulch the whole root zone, if possible.

A tree’s crown size also influences its susceptibility to hurricane damage. Shorter trees afford the wind less leverage. Tree species and varieties of small to moderate size (15 to 30 feet) are not only less likely to topple, they also cause less damage if they do. This may seem self-evident, but it doesn’t prevent thousands of homeowners from planting large trees in potentially disastrous proximity to buildings, driveways, and other targets. Our advice: don’t.

Trees of all sizes benefit from companions. Groups of similarly sized trees – spaced at the width of their mature crowns – are relatively hurricane-resistant compared to singletons. Likewise, large trees – where appropriate – call for an underplanting of smaller, shade-tolerant trees and shrubs. In addition to being ecologically apropos, this planted understory will at least partially survive even a catastrophic hurricane.

A further factor to consider is the direction of the strongest hurricane winds – typically from the southeast or northeast. Niches sheltered from these winds (for example, to the west of a building) will suffer relatively light damage. Conversely, fully exposed sites are especially inappropriate for hurricane-susceptible trees.

Hurricane-Resistant Trees

Having chosen a good site for your tree, you’ll probably want to choose a relatively hurricane-resistant species. Studies of hurricane damage show that some tree species – including the following eastern U.S. natives – stand up particularly well to wind. Even better, some of these species come in compact forms that offer even greater hurricane resistance.

Strong-wooded muscle wood trees — Strong-wooded musclewood trees are small to medium-sized, have unusual bark, and will withstand high winds and harsh weather.

American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana): 25 to 40 feet tall; full to part sun; USDA Cold Hardiness Zones 3 to 9. This compact tree has smooth, fluted bark and exceptional fall color. It grows in the understory in the wild, but in cultivation, it is at its best in full sun and moist, fertile, friable soil. It is also known as blue beech and musclewood.

Dogwood tree in spring — Everyone loves the beauty of dogwoods in spring, but these trees are also surprisingly resilient to hurricane weather.

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida): 20 feet; full to part sun; Zones 5 to 8. This common flowering tree offers white flowers in mid-spring, attractive scaly gray bark, and burgundy fall color. The many varieties of this old-time favorite include the pink-bloomed ‘Cherokee Brave’ and floriferous ‘Cloud 9’.

If you don’t mind the prickly foliage, American hollies are great native, evergreen trees that will stand up to the worst stormy weather.

American holly (Ilex opaca): 30 to 40 feet; full sun to light shade; Zones 5 to 9. This tall, conical holly has spiny evergreen leaves and red berries on female plants, when a male pollenizer is present. Notable compact varieties include the yellow-fruited ‘Helen Mitchell’, variegated ‘Steward’s Silver Crown’ (female), and large-berried ‘Satyr Hill’.

Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora): 20 to 50 feet; full to partial sun; Zones 6 (for the hardiest cultivars) to 9. Broad lustrous evergreen leaves with fuzzy undersides and large waxy flowers in summer make this an exceptional landscape tree. Look for ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’, a compact, hardy form that matures at 25 to 30 feet and handles Zone 6 winters.

Native hop hornbeam — The native hop hornbeam is a woodland tree that also makes a good landscape tree for hurricane-prone areas.

Hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana): 30 to 50 feet; full to partial sun; Zones 5 to 9. Reaching 25 to 40 feet when mature, this shaggy-barked understory native forms a dense oval-crowned specimen when planted in full sun. It has good gold fall color. It is also known as “ironwood”, for its strong densely grained trunk.

Oak trees — Many oaks make excellent storm-resistant additions to open lawns and landscapes. The key is making sure they have enough ground to fully develop supportive root systems.

Shumard red oak (Quercus shumardii): 40 to 70 feet; sun; Zones 5 to 9. This handsome, deciduous U.S. native oak has pointy-lobed leaves that color wine-red in late fall or early winter. Its close relative, maple-leaved oak (Quercus acerifolia), features a compact habit and five-lobed, maple-like leaves. Shingle oak (Quercus imbricaria) is another good choice, offering relatively slow, compact growth (to 50 to 70 feet), shiny unlobed leaves, burgundy fall color, and Zone 4 to 8 hardiness.

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum): 40 to 70 feet; sun to light shade; Zones 5 to 11. A strong constitution helps support this tree in high winds. It is a striking deciduous conifer with a conical habit and feathery foliage that goes burnt-orange in fall. (Read our recent bald cypress article for a description of more compact cultivars.)

Caladium: Foliar Fireworks for Shade

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Summer color is always a challenge in the shade garden. Among the most valuable plants for filling the summer color void are the many showy-leaved hybrids of the tropical American native, Caladium bicolor. Available in a range of flamboyant hues, including flamingo-pink and flaming red, these tender perennials kick into high gear in the first hot days of June and July, just as the spring shade perennials are exiting the scene.

Planting Caladium

'Candidum' foliage — ‘Candidum’ is an old but beautiful variety with chalk-white, boldly green-veined foliage.

The leaves arise from knobby tubers that break dormancy in spring after the soil has warmed to 60 degrees or more, so don’t plant them until outdoor temperatures are warm. Dormant tubers rot in cold damp soil, so north of USDA Hardiness Zone 9 they overwinter reliably only if stored indoors (a dry, well-aerated location works best). Gardeners in frost-free areas can grow caladiums as perennials.

Caladiums are ready-made for tropical (and subtropical) gardens. In chillier regions, they’re ideal subjects for plantings that evoke sultry, exotic climes. Place them in a border or large container with tuberous begonias, elephant-ears, peacock gingers, kalanchoes, and other denizens of equatorial regions, and you’ll have a tropicalissimo composition worthy of a Brazilian garden.

However you deploy caladiums, they’ll grow best planted shallowly (2 or 3 inches deep) in average to moist, humus-rich soil and dappled shade. Many will do fine in full sun if the soil is sufficiently moist (but not soggy). If your soil is heavy or sandy, amend it with Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost before planting.

Caladium Groups

Caladiums are usually categorized into two groups, defined by the shape and size of their leaves. These include “fancy-leaved” and “strap-leaved varieties. The fancy-leaved types typically produce large, heart-shaped foliage that does best in partial shade. Popular since Victorian times, they include:

‘Candidum’, a venerable, nineteenth-century introduction widely grown for its chalk-white, boldly green-veined foliage;
‘Fannie Munson’, a brilliant shrimp-pink cultivar accented with magenta-pink veins;
‘Frieda Hemple’, whose dazzling, glossy brick-red leaves have intense red veins that extend into wide rich-green margins;
‘Kathleen’, a salmon-pink variety with broad, bright-green borders;
‘White Queen’, with creamy-white leaves etched with burgundy-red veins.
Proven Winners Sun or Shade Caladiums: These come in many colors and are well adapted to growing in either sun or shade.

'Florida Sweetheart' Caladium — ‘Florida Sweetheart’ is a lovely strap-leaved *Caladium* variety. (Image by David Stang)

“Strap-leaved” caladiums produce narrower, smaller, relatively sun-tolerant foliage, with leaf stems joined to the base of the leaf blade (rather than toward its middle). There are quite a few notable varieties worth seeking out.

‘Lance Wharton’ has a central flame of vivid flamingo-pink, flecked with white and bordered in various shades of green. Bright red veins complete the picture;
‘Gingerland’ is decked out in multiple tones of green and white, with raspberry-red splotches;
‘Florida Sweetheart’ has reddish-pink-leaves edged in shades of cream and green;
‘Miss Muffet’ bears lime-green leaves with bold maroon freckles.

Caladiums such as ‘Miss Muffet’ that measure less than 12 inches tall are sometimes classified as “dwarf” varieties. They’re well suited for tight spaces, including as house plants, where they grow well in a humus-rich, well-drained potting mix such as Fafard Professional Potting Mix. An east-facing windowsill – away from the air-conditioning – is ideal. Storehouse plant caladiums – unwatered – in a cool location for the winter, repotting them in mid to late spring.

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The Best Japanese Maples for Landscapes

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Japanese maples are a whole field (or forest) of horticulture in themselves. Encompassing thousands of cultivars, this enchanting tribe of small trees is the stuff of which lifelong horticultural obsessions are made.

Bald Cypress for the Landscape

Bald Cypress for Landscapes Featured Image — Bald cypress “knees” are an interesting characteristic of mature specimens planted in moist soils.

Even if you’ve never been to the Southeast U.S., you’re probably familiar with one of its signature plant communities: the bald cypress swamp. Nothing looks more “Deep South” than a flooded grove of buttress-trunked Taxodium distichum draped with Spanish moss. It might surprise you then to learn that bald cypress makes an excellent (and hardy) subject for all sorts of garden situations in regions as cold as USDA Hardiness Zone (minus 10 to minus 20 F).
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Grape Hyacinths: Small Scented Wonders of Spring

No group of plants does “adorable” and “blue” better than grape hyacinths. Most gardeners know these captivating little bulbs by way of Muscari armeniacum and its allies, whose elfin spires of chubby blue flowers do indeed resemble tiny bunches of grapes. But there’s another, equally delightful side to the Muscari tribe, with numerous species that are not at all grape-like in bloom. Botanists often split these non-grapey species into their own genera, but in the gardening world, the entire bunch are still known as Muscari.
Continue reading “Grape Hyacinths: Small Scented Wonders of Spring”

Late-Winter Garden Cleanup in Six Steps

A bit of garden housekeeping in February and March can literally help clear the way for the floral exuberance of April and May. With that in mind, here are some spring cleaning projects for late winter, on days when the Polar Vortex isn’t visiting.
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Organic Plant Protection with Improved Horticultural Oils

Organic Plant Protection with Improved Hort Oils Featured Image
Oil-based insecticides have come a long way in the last few decades. Lighter and more versatile than the “dormant oils” of yesteryear, today’s horticultural oils can be used at most times of the year and are effective against a wide variety of insects. They’re also among the most benign pesticides, decomposing within a few days of application and causing minimal harm to beneficial insects and other untargeted organisms. Accordingly, many brands of horticultural oils are OMRI LISTED for organic gardening.

New and Improved Horticultural Oils

Magnifying glass focusing on aphids on leaves — These oils are a great remedy for soft-bodied arthropods, such as aphids.

Most new-wave horticultural oils derive from petroleum, although an increasing number are vegetable-oil-based. In all cases, they’ve undergone several rounds of processing to remove impurities, such as sulfur that can damage leaves and other soft plant tissues. Their relatively high purity (92 percent or greater) and low viscosity allow them to go places – such as directly on foliage – that are largely off limits for old-school “dormant oil sprays.”
Almost all horticultural oils work not by poisoning pests but by mechanically coating and smothering them. Consequently, they’re an excellent remedy for infestations of slow-moving, soft-bodied arthropods, such as aphids, mites, and whiteflies. They also control a number of plant diseases, including powdery mildew and aphid-transmitted viruses.
Neem oil departs from the norm by disrupting insects’ feeding and development via several biologically active compounds. Virtually non-toxic to humans and other mammals, it’s effective against a relatively wide range of pests, including some that are resistant to other horticultural oils.

Horticultural Oil Conditions

Spraying hort oils on plants — Many older hort oils were best applied in late winter or early spring.

Horticultural oils come with a few provisos. First, they lose their effectiveness in rain, drought, cold (sub-40 degrees F), heat (90-degrees-plus), or high humidity. Additionally, even highly refined horticultural oils can sometimes cause minor damage to flowers and tender new plant growth. Horticultural oils are also said to be mildly toxic to a number of plant species including ferns, Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), and smoke trees (Cotinus spp.), although this may not apply to the highly purified oils currently in use.

When to Use Horticultural Oils

Spraying hort oils on flowers — Many new hort oils can be applied at almost any time of the year.

Of course, horticultural oils are effective and ecologically friendly only when they’re properly used on visible pests at vulnerable points in their life cycles. A thorough, targeted coating of oil at the right time will put a serious dent in a susceptible pest infestation. Conversely, indiscriminate spraying will likely do more harm to beneficials and foliage than to pests. It’s always good horticultural practice to know your enemy and to read the label.

Late Winter

The horticultural oil season begins in late winter, as temperatures moderate and overwintering pests begin to shake their slumber. Hemlock woolly adelgids (pest info here), euonymus scale (pest info here), and spruce spider mites (pest info here) are among the insects and mites to look for and treat at this time.

Spring

Mid to late spring is a good time to spray “crawler” stages of armored scales (pest info here). Weekly applications of neem oil will help contain lily leaf beetles (pest info here).

Spring to Fall

Use horticultural oils from mid-spring to fall to control the likes of aphids, lacebugs (pest info here), spider mites (pest info here), powdery mildew (pest info here), and sawfly larvae such as “rose slugs” (pest info here). Mild days in late fall are a good time to spray scales, mites, and other pests that survived early spring treatment.

Oils for Indoor Plants

Indoor plant pests are also fair game, whatever the season. Your spider-mite-infested weeping fig and all your other insect-plagued houseplants will welcome a quick visit to the back porch for a spritz of death-dealing horticultural oil. Or you can give your plants (and their insect pests) a bath by inverting them into a bucket filled with highly diluted horticultural oil. Outside or in, horticultural oils are an environmentally friendly solution to a host of insect problems.

The Best Hardy Camellias for the Landscape

Camellias have been known to trigger acute plant envy in Northern U.S. gardeners. If only those voluptuous blooms came on hardier shrubs that could withstand sub-zero temperatures.
As a matter of fact, in some cases they do. Although most camellias trace their origins to mild subtropical and maritime areas of East Asia, a few hail from chillier regions. These cold-hardy camellias have contributed their genes to the development of new varieties that are as happy in Newport, Rhode Island as they are in Newport News, Virginia.

Hardy Camellia Origins

Camellia in winter — The hardiest spring-blooming camellias can even take snow flurries.

Many of these winter-ready camellias owe their toughness to arguably the hardiest species in the genus, Camellia oleifera. Widely cultivated in China for its seed oil, it occurs in the wild as far north as Shaanxi Province, where winter temperatures resemble those in south-coastal New England and the upper Mid-Atlantic. In American gardens, it’s grown chiefly for its fragrant, white, 2- to 3-inch-flowers, borne in fall on large, shrubby plants furnished with oval, evergreen leaves that taper at the tips. The handsome gray-brown bark makes an eye-catching winter feature.
Camellia oleifera proved its hardiness in a series of bitterly cold winters that clobbered the eastern U.S. in the late 1970s. Of hundreds of decades-old camellias at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., only a dozen or so survived – including several selections and hybrids of this rugged species. Subsequently, horticulturists have used Camellia oleifera to produce a number of comely cultivars that flourish into USDA Zone 6 (0 to minus 10 degrees F minimum temperatures). Most of them produce pink or white, 3-inch-wide, single to double flowers in early to mid-fall (the earlier the better, so as to escape damage from Arctic spells).

Camellia oleifera and its progeny are not the only hardy camellias on the block, however. Recent introductions of Camellia japonica from Korea and northern Japan are also blessed with USDA Zone 6 hardiness. Handsome year-round, they typically form dense 6- to 12-foot shrubs with lustrous, leathery, evergreen leaves and early-spring flushes of rich-red, 2- to 3-inch-wide flowers accented with yellow stamens.
Thanks to these two species, gardeners in Zone 6 can now do the formerly unthinkable: enjoy a fall and spring garden display of showy camellias.

Fall-Blooming Hardy Camellias

'Snow Flurry’ camellias — The flowers of *Camellia* ‘Snow Flurry’ appear in mid to late autumn.

Camellia ‘Autumn Spirit’

Combining the showy flowers of the cold-tender Camellia sasanqua with the Zone 6 hardiness of Camellia oleifera, this highly prized hybrid bears zingy, double rose-pink flowers in early to mid-autumn, well before freezing weather threatens. They’re lovely planted in combination with Colchicum ‘Waterlily’. The dense, 8-foot plants have relatively small, dark green leaves.

Camellia ‘Snow Flurry’

Two of the hardiest white-flowered camellias (‘Plain Jane’ and ‘Frost Princess’) teamed up to produce this beautiful, tough-as-nails cultivar. Frilly white pompons appear in early to mid-autumn on a fast-growing shrub that takes well to early spring pruning and winters reliably through Zone 6. Combine it with Anemone japonica ‘Whirlwind’ and Ilex glabra ‘Ivory Queen’ for a fall symphony in white.

Camellia ‘Survivor’

Single white flowers open in mid-fall on vigorous 10- to 20-foot plants. A hybrid of Camellia oleifera, it lives up to its name by consistently showing superior hardiness in cold-winter climates (to USDA Zone 6).

Camellia ‘Winter’s Star’

Named for the shape of its single, lavender-pink flowers, ‘Winter’s Star’ actually commences bloom in October, well before the onset of winter weather in Zone 6 (where it’s perfectly hardy). It forms an open, conical, 10- to 12-foot shrub.

Spring-Blooming Hardy Camellias

Camelia japonica 'Bloomfield' in snow — The flowers of *Camellia japonica* ‘Bloomfield’ appear in late winter to early spring.

Camellia japonica ‘April Remembered’

No cold-climate camellia produces anything more luscious than the 5-inch-wide, semi-double, creamy-pink flowers of this remarkably hardy 1996 introduction from Camellia Forest Nursery. It rapidly forms a vigorous, 6- to 10-foot shrub with large rich-green leaves. If you garden in USDA Zone 6 but want bodacious Southern belle camellias, ‘April Remembered’ is the place to start. And yes – it does bloom during the first warm days of April, or sometimes March.

Camellia japonica ‘Bloomfield’

Brilliant red flowers, lush foliage, and a large, dense, rounded habit make for one of best all-around camellias for Zone 6 gardens. The single, 3-inch-wide blooms occur in flushes during mild spells in late winter and early spring. The original plant – grown from Korean seed at Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia – is more than 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

Camellia japonica ‘Korean Fire’

Smoldering-red, six-petaled, 2-inch-wide flowers repeat from late winter through early spring, weather permitting. Perhaps the hardiest camellia variety introduced to date, ‘Korean Fire’ is well worth trying in favorable microclimates into USDA Zone 5. Plants grow to 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

Growing Camellias

All camellias grow best in acid, friable, humus-rich soil, with protection from north winds and strong sunlight. If you garden in sandy or heavy soil, give your camellia an extra-wide planting hole (at least 3 times wider than the root ball), and amend the backfill with Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost. Spring planting and a yearly application of an inch or two of compost are also advisable, whatever the soil.

Articles

Good and Bad Bittersweet

Bittersweet Varieties

Chaste Tree Hardiness and Habit

Chaste Tree Growing Needs

Chaste Tree Varieties

Other Vitex Species

Hurricane-Resistant Tree Features

Hurricane-Resistant Trees

Planting Caladium

Caladium Groups

New and Improved Horticultural Oils

Horticultural Oil Conditions

When to Use Horticultural Oils

Late Winter

Spring

Spring to Fall

Oils for Indoor Plants

Hardy Camellia Origins

Fall-Blooming Hardy Camellias

Camellia ‘Autumn Spirit’

Camellia ‘Snow Flurry’

Camellia ‘Survivor’

Camellia ‘Winter’s Star’

Spring-Blooming Hardy Camellias

Camellia japonica ‘April Remembered’

Camellia japonica ‘Bloomfield’

Camellia japonica ‘Korean Fire’

Growing Camellias