Camellia Rose: Easy to grow with beautiful winter flowering plants
Image by JackieLou DL from Pixabay
Attractive Camellia Rose plants are grown for their beautiful flowers. The plants are easy to grow and requires very little care. These plants are mostly winter flowering and is a great addition to the garden.
Quick Details of Camellia Rose
| Other Common Names | Rose of winter, Camellia |
| Type | Evergreen flowering outdoor/indoor plant |
| Maintenance | Low |
| Flowering | Seasonal blooming, most of the species flower during winters |
| Light | Partial shade or filtered light. |
| Water | Regular watering to maintain the soil moist. |
| Temperature | Normal climatic conditions. Cannot tolerate excess heat or cold. |
| Soil | Slightly acidic well draining, nutrient rich, loamy soil. |
| Fertilizer | Potassium rich fertilizer for blooming, Nitrogen rich fertilizer for foliage formation. |
| Habitat | China, Korea, Japan |
| Toxicity | Nil |
| Common Diseases | Camellia petal blight, Tea scale |
| Scientific name | Camellia japonica |
Camellia Rose Buying Instructions
- Buy a busy plant which should not have any kind of pest attack
- Buy a plant in which there are no dry or damaged leaves
- If you are buying this plant in flowering season, buy a plant with as much as possible buds
Overview of Camellia Rose
These evergreen shrubs are native to China, Japan and Korea and belong to the family of Theaceae. The plants are mostly grown for its attractive flowers. Two of the commonly grown species include C. japonica and C. sasanqua. These plants can grow up to a height of 20- 25 feet tall and blooms seasonally.
The leaves of these flowers are shiny, dark green in color The alternately arranged with serrate margins and pointed tips. The plants bear beautiful flowers that are either red, pink, white and can have streaks or are plain. The blooms can be either double or single. Not all flowers produce fragrances.
Some of the common varieties of the plant include:
Elfin Rose: They have pink flowers and bloom mostly during October- November.
Rebel Yell: These plants have white flowers with a red blotch.
Yuletide: These plants produce red flowers and are intact and small shrubs when compared to other species.
April Dawn: These plants produce white flowers with pink streaks.
Fragrant Pink: Blooms during winter and produces pink flowers that releases a slight pleasant fragrance.
Usage and Advantage of Camellia Rose
- Grown as an ornamental plant.
General Camellia Rose Care
Soil:
They prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH ranging between 6- 6.5. The soil should be well draining, nutrient rich loamy soil. If preparing the soil at home, make sure to add enough peat or gravel to increase the drainage and to provide enough aeration.
Water:
These plants prefer their soil to be moist. Water the plants regularly during dry conditions. During rainy seasons or during times when the conditions are humid check the soil before watering. Do not overwater the plants. They do not like their soil to be wet.
Sunlight:
These plants prefer partial shade. Do not place them in spots with too bright direct sunlight, it can harm the plants.
Temperature:
They prefer normal climatic conditions. They cannot tolerate excess cold or too harsh summers. The plants thrive best in normal humidity. Excess humidity can attract pests and pathogens.
Special Care:
Mulch the soil to maintain moisture. Place the plants near north facing windows or in spots that are north facing to prevent early blooming. Remove the old, yellowing and dead leaves. Deadhead the flowers as soon as they start to dry and wilt. These plants do not require much pruning. Remove any dead or infected part of the plant to keep it healthy.
Fertilization:
Feeding these plants are important to attain a blooming healthy plant. To initiate blooming past summer add a potassium rich fertilizer to the plants. During spring use a nitrogen rich fertilizer, this helps in the formation of blooms. Use a slow release fertilizer and fertilize the plants ones in 15-30 days. Make sure not to overfeed the plants.
Pests and other problems for Camellia Rose
These plants can be suseptible to pests and diseases under stressed conditions. Proper care and an optimum condition for growth can prevent the attack of pests and pathogens and help in maintaining a healthy plant.
Some of the common problems seen in Camellia roses are:
Camellia petal blight:
It is is fungal disease and is seen to infect the plant mostly during winters. It is a soil borne pathogen and infects the plants mostly when the conditions are too humid or wet and when the soil s[plashes on to the plant while watering them. The infected petals start to become brown at the edges first which further spreads to the whole petal and the flowers. Remove the infected flower as soon as possible and spray neem oil or a mild fungicide to curb the spread of the disease.
Yellowing of the leaves:
This is one of the common problem seen in Camellia rose plants. The leaves start to turn yellow, wilt and die. This can either be due to pest attack or lack of nutrients.
Tea scale:
The most common pest seen in these plants are tea scales which feed on the juices of the plant. They are mostly present on the underside of the leaf. The underside of the leaves infected turn white and fuzzy and the upper side remains yellow. Remove the infected leaves as soon as possible and spray an insecticide or neem oil.
Iron deficiency:
Iron deficiency can also cause yellowing of leaves. Check the soil for nutrient deficiency and add an iron rich supplement to the soil.
Propagation of Camellia Rose
Camellia rose can be propagated either by seeds or through layering.
Sow the seeds 1/2 inch deep into the soil and cover them with soil. Water the soil regularly till the seeds start to germinate. Germination can take up to 15-30 days. Transplant the seedlings to a new pot.
They can also be propagated through layering. This is mostly done during summers. Select a long stem and make sure it can bend enough to touch the ground. Make a small cut on the stem and bury the cut part in the soil and cover it with soil and place a rock on to it to provide enough pressure. The roots should start to develop in few weeks. Remove this offspring from the parent plant and pot it separately.
