Think ahead to the holidays and begin planting for some festive color at Christmas. Christmas Camellias are the perfect choice for a blooming plant that is hardy and resilient, but also lovely and easy to maintain. Augment your typical holiday greenery and wreaths with a pop of purple, pink, and fiery red from camellias to create captivating and colorful curb appeal this season.
Three camellias to plant now for brighter Christmas curb appeal later are:
‘Yuletide’
The Camellia Sasanqua, often called ‘Yuletide,’ is a Christmas Camellia that boasts bright red blossoms with yellow stamens, and dark, shiny foliage. The colors are perfect for the holiday season and it is a mid-season bloomer, which means you will have beautiful flowers for Christmas. These camellias do best when provided acidic, well-drained soil in spots that receive part-sun and part-shade. Furthermore, the Yuletide Camellia is easy to grow and maintain due to its hardy nature and evergreen resilience. While these plants are resistant to the rigors of fall and winter temperatures, they are stunted by too much direct sunlight.
‘Christmas Rose’
The ‘Christmas Rose’ is aptly named for its beautiful deep-rose and red blossoms that bloom in the winter. This Camellia hybrid thrives in well-drained and fertile soil, with filtered light that protects the plant from prolonged direct sunlight, especially mid-day. These gorgeous holiday-hued shrubs can grow up to eight-feet tall with a normal spread of around three-to-five-feet wide. This camellia takes moderate watering and moderate maintenance, including pest protection. Make sure to keep your Christmas Rose safe from insects as this hybrid is very susceptible and vulnerable to pests.
‘Winter’s Star’
The blush blooms of the Camellia hybrid known as ‘Winter’s Star’ are a welcome sight when the weather turns cold. The large flowers are dramatic and showy, ranging in shades from a pale pink to a purplish-lavender. Beyond their beauty and green, year-round foliage, Winter’s Star is also a hardy and tough plant that can withstand drops in temperature and less-than-ideal grow conditions. These camellias thrive with moist, well-drained soil that is acidic, and also do well in shady spots. Be sure to protect your camellias from extreme wind or strong, direct sun.
Now is the time to plan for beautiful outdoor color this Christmas, and to begin planting your Christmas Camellias. Whether you choose the vibrant red Christmas Rose or the pretty pink blooms of a hardy Winter’s Star, these beautiful plants will be a warm and welcome respite from the chilly winter months. Visit your Terra Bella Garden Center in Charleston, SC for a wide variety of Christmas Camellias, which also make excellent gifts!
