Azaleas and Camellias
Episode: #14 14/07/07
Presenter: Neville Passmore
If you want to inject a bit of colour into your shaded garden there are two families that are worth looking at, azaleas and camellias.
Camellias come from Southeast Asia and apart from being famous for their production of tea they are a world class act when it comes to giving a great show of flowers for us to six months of the year. Home territory for camellias consists of monsoonal woodlands. There are a couple of things that flow from this:
Small flowering sasanqua types such as Sasanqua Camellia (Camellia sasanqua cv.) are more sun hardy and have small leaves. They make terrific hedges and put on their best show early in the cool season.
Japonica types from Japan and China such as the Japonica Camellia (Camellia japonica cv.) have more complex flowers, demand more shade and they concentrate their flower show through the middle of winter.
Reticulata Camellia (Camellia reticulate cv.) is the pre-Madonna of the camellia family. They tend to flower late in winter going into spring and the flowers are complete knockouts. Some are as big as dinner plates with dramatic colour variations to match their flamboyant reputation.
Rhododendrons (Rhododendron, Hybrid Cultivar) are amongst the most spectacular shrubs on the planet. They come from mountainous country like the foothills of the Himalayas. They need cool moist environments to do well.
Azaleas (Rhododendron, Hybrid Cultivar, Evergreen Azalea) are superstars from Tasmania right up to Queensland.
One of the secrets for success for both Azaleas and Camellias is mulch, pile it higher and deeper. When planting out Azaleas and Camellias use Yates Thrive Camellia and Azalea Potting Mix. Dig a hole and plant directly into this mix and when it comes to feeding there are also specific fertilizers to use. Don’t get too enthusiastic and feed them now because the best time to feed them is when they have completely stopped flowering. This will encourage them to make tremendous growth in the late spring and early summer.
Featured Products
Yates Thrive Camellia and Azalea Potting Mix.
Presenter: Neville Passmore
If you want to inject a bit of colour into your shaded garden there are two families that are worth looking at, azaleas and camellias.
Camellias come from Southeast Asia and apart from being famous for their production of tea they are a world class act when it comes to giving a great show of flowers for us to six months of the year. Home territory for camellias consists of monsoonal woodlands. There are a couple of things that flow from this:
- Sloping soils so the drainage is terrific.
- Acid reacting soil as apposed to limey soils that you get by the coast. One word of warning; Lime is poisonous to camellias.
Small flowering sasanqua types such as Sasanqua Camellia (Camellia sasanqua cv.) are more sun hardy and have small leaves. They make terrific hedges and put on their best show early in the cool season.
Japonica types from Japan and China such as the Japonica Camellia (Camellia japonica cv.) have more complex flowers, demand more shade and they concentrate their flower show through the middle of winter.
Reticulata Camellia (Camellia reticulate cv.) is the pre-Madonna of the camellia family. They tend to flower late in winter going into spring and the flowers are complete knockouts. Some are as big as dinner plates with dramatic colour variations to match their flamboyant reputation.
Rhododendrons (Rhododendron, Hybrid Cultivar) are amongst the most spectacular shrubs on the planet. They come from mountainous country like the foothills of the Himalayas. They need cool moist environments to do well.
Azaleas (Rhododendron, Hybrid Cultivar, Evergreen Azalea) are superstars from Tasmania right up to Queensland.
One of the secrets for success for both Azaleas and Camellias is mulch, pile it higher and deeper. When planting out Azaleas and Camellias use Yates Thrive Camellia and Azalea Potting Mix. Dig a hole and plant directly into this mix and when it comes to feeding there are also specific fertilizers to use. Don’t get too enthusiastic and feed them now because the best time to feed them is when they have completely stopped flowering. This will encourage them to make tremendous growth in the late spring and early summer.
Featured Products
Yates Thrive Camellia and Azalea Potting Mix.
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