Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Camelia Joys and Tribulations



The Camelia bush.It is evergreen the leafs, with gorgeous shiny surfaces.I just want to polish them!

This year I think they flowered in January.Beautiful pink flowers..

The only problem i had was the red camelia has stubbornly refused to flower.I have added pine leaves to make the soil more acidic.Fed them Ericaceous plant food.Fingers crossed.

They have been with me for two years. I think about moving them but feel nostalgic and leave them.Even when they dont flower.

They contrast to the large dusty miller on their right side, and the gnome solar light on the left!!

I hope they can both flower next year.Expect lots of pics!!

8 comments:

Kerri said...

I haven't tried to grow camelias here...always thought it was too cold. I should look into that because I love them. My mum grew them beautifully in Australia and I've always loved them.
I hope that red one blooms for you next year.

David (Snappy) said...

Hi Kerri, the Camelia's here are not bothered by cold or snow.They are quite tough actually with shiny leather like leaves.I hope it blooms too.Thanks for all your comments :)

Philosophical Karen said...

Oh, you changed your photo. I thought I was on the wrong blog!

Annie in Austin said...

I've got two - one has buds now but the other has just leaves. So I'll also hope for next year! Snappy, your leaves look exceptionally healthy and shiny.

Kerri - it was too cold in Illinois for camellias so NY is probably also too cold. I think Washington, DC area might be the northern edge of their range?

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Maggie said...

I have only seen pictures of Camelia's. The flower is beautiful and I wonder if I can grow them in Canada????

Maggie said...

I have only seen pictures of Camelia's. The flower is beautiful and I wonder if I can grow them in Canada????

Sigruns German Garden said...

Snappy, you have a new photo in your profile! Nice.

Years ago I had a Camilia. It is to cold here, she is dead.

Sigrun

David (Snappy) said...

Hi Karen, yes I changed the photo.The other one was nearly a year old after a rain storm.This was me playing the violin on my days off!!
Annie in Austin,I cannot always tell on mine.Leaf and flower buds look similar.They both have buds on but whether it is flowers i wont know untill they open.I cant understand why they dont tolerate the cold.I guess our cold in the UK is not as extreme as some parts of the USA.Your country is too big with wide temperature variations between states..
I will Research garden girl where Camelias can be grown, and whether you can grow them outside in Canada or maybe indoors?
Sigrun, thanks for the comments about the new photo.I feel sorry for your camelia dying to the cold, maybe you can buy another :)