In October the Kiawah Island Garden Club was treated to an unusually compelling and entertaining talk about camellias by Sidney Frasier, Vice President for Horticulture at Middleton Place. Frasier was born on James Island and in 1974 he was approached by a man from Middleton Place who wanted to date his sister. As Frasier was looking for a gardening job, an introduction was arranged. At first just a helper and “gofer,” he was promoted to vice president in 1982. He discovered that the job includes supervising the roads, maintenance, the Middleton Inn, the stables and the janitors. He has his degree from Trident Technical College and a natural green thumb and just loves propagating camellias.
There are three types of camellias:
- Sasanquas
- Japonicas (most successful in the South)
- Sinensis (which produce tea).
They grow wild in Asia and our southern temperatures and environment are the same. There are six types of bloom forms:
- single
- semi-double
- anemone
- peony
- rose
- double.
There are colors from white to pink to red, and it is best to plant several colors for a good display. If anyone creates a new form they can name it, sell it for distribution and probably become wealthy. Well drained soil is necessary for camellias. The plant will tell you by curled up leaves if you are watering too much or too little. Changing your watering schedule can save your plants. Japonicas need shade, in full sun they will never bloom well. Damage from full sun in the winter will show up by the end of the next blooming season as the stems will crack and allow pests to invade. Sasanquas are a lot tougher and love sun. In the shade they will grow more tree-like. They are loved by commercial landscapers as they are hardy, “bullet proof” and can be drastically pruned. Their root system is vigorous, they are fast growing, more deer resistant and newly developed sasanquas have double flowers. Sinensis, the tea plant, has tiny unattractive flowers so is best saved for tea plantations.
It requires no care as an ornamental. Bees pollinate all the types of camellias. Camellias are propagated in several ways. In grafting the plant is cut off, the remaining trunk is split with a knife, a small stem from another plant is trimmed to a taper, leaving the bark on one side, and is then inserted into the split base plant, lining up the remaining bark with the side of the base plant and then taped or sealed with candle wax to prevent pest infestation. If the base trunk if big enough more than one cutting can be grafted in the same place, making a plant with several colors of flowers.
Slow growing but more heavily flowering Japonicas are grafted onto vigorous Sasanqua stock providing a huge amount of energy and the result is a vigorous growing Japonica. Grafts can be done on the side of a stem also, and rooting can be done by grafting onto a cut off and tapered branch which is then planted in soil. If it doesn’t work, the plant will revert to its original form. Another way to propagate camellias (and many other plants like azaleas and roses) is called air layering. A strip of bark it stripped from around an entire main upright stem, leaving a good amount of the plant above the strip. This section in wrapped with very wet sphagnum moss, held in place with plastic or a device available from Amazon which holds the moss tightly to the injured area. The plant goes into survival mode and the branch below the strip will put out new growth from almost-invisible buds. The stripped part will start putting out roots within the moss medium.
After about 6 months the parts can be separated and there will be two thriving plants. When planting in a planter, which is one way many people in deer-prone areas can grow camellias, be sure to leave several inches above the soil level to water. To insure planting at the proper depth, mark or tie a ribbon around where the plant rises out of the dirt in its original planter and be sure to plant at the same depth. Put screening in the bottom of the pot to prevent pests from entering that way. A Japonica can stay in the same container for years as it doesn’t mind being root bound.
In fact, starting in too large a pot is not good as the root system grows too big for the foliage. To keep it small you can prune the roots, but not the foliage. In our beach area the sand in the soil is good drainage; compost can be added but not more than one part to 3 parts sand. When a camellia is raised from seed it is never the same as the parent plant, it will be a different color (usually red) and size. It also takes about 5 years to bloom. Holly-Tone is good fertilizer if the soil is tested and found to be in need: a Ph of 6-6.5 is perfect, do not go over a Ph of 7. Fungicide spray is rarely needed. Neem oil can be used for pests but it’s better to remove damaged leaves. Pine trees are hard on camellias, the falling needles can pierce the leaves. It is best to transplant in the cooler Fall. A wet summer is followed by a profuse blooming of camellias and this year should be spectacular (if there is no cold snap between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15). There are so many varieties, ranging from early blooming (prior to Jan. 1) to middle (Jan.1 through the end of February) and late ( March and later) blooming. If all three varieties are planted there will be flowers all through the season. The Garden Club learned a great deal and were so fascinated by all Mr. Frasier had to say that no one wanted the meeting to end.
The next event for the Garden Club will be at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 28 at the Cinder Creek Pavilion where Holiday Crafts will be presented by members of the Club in preparation for the holiday season. Details can be found at kiawahislandgardenclub.org.
