Fall-blooming Camellias Part 2
Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
Red-flowered Camellia japonica (introduction in process)
In my previous article, Fall-blooming Camellias Part 1, I showed you my camellias and provided some background on the development of these remarkable plants. Here I want to convey the astonishing variety of cultivars available for your fall garden.
On December 2 (before the freeze), I was privileged to visit the camellia collection of Swarthmore, PA, horticulturalist Charles Cresson who grows over 60 varieties. Charles not only showed me around his gardens, but helped me stage the photographs—thanks Charles. Here are some of the incredible specimens I saw.
Camellia x ‘Snow Flurry’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Dream’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Autumn Spirit’ (Camellia Forest Introduction)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Snowman’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Charm’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Camellia x ‘Scented Snow’ (Camellia Forest Introduction)
Camellia x ‘Winter’s Beauty’ (Ackerman Hybrid)
Cranberry-flowered Camellia (not introduced)
White-flowered Camellia (not introduced)
The two photos above are of cold hardy camellias that have never been offered for sale.
Red-flowered Camellia japonica (introduction in process)
Of all the camellias I saw during my visit, and there were many more than appear here, you can probably tell that the red-flowered camellia in the photographs above and at the top was my favorite. From its plentiful plump buds to its robust red flowers with bright yellow stamens to its dazzling dark evergreen leaves to its lush and luxurious habit, it is outstanding. It is a straight C. japonica species collected by the Morris Arboretum in 1984 on an island in Korea. The island is the most northern range of this species. Although technically a spring bloomer, it also flowers in fall. Charles hopes to introduce it for sale soon.
For more information on Ackerman hybrid camellias, read William Ackerman’s article “Camellias for Cold Climates”. For a wonderful selection of camellias from a nursery that hybridizes them, visit the Camellia Forest Nursery website. Camellia Forest is located in Chapel Hill, NC.
Carolyn
Note: Every word that appears in orange on my blog is a link that you can click for more information.
CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 
December 17, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Great post and gorgeous photos. Charles’s camellias are spectacular all 60+ of them I am sure.
December 17, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Hi Donna, Yes, the whole collection is amazing as is Charles’s garden in general. Glad you enjoyed the photos. Carolyn
December 17, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I’ve been growing Camellias for a number of years now and have found the best performer in my garden so far has been C. sasanqua Jean May. It is a fairly low grower with beautiful, shiny dark-green leaves and lots of soft pink blooms starting around late October and lasting through December. Best of all, it begins to bloom profusely almost from the day you put it in the ground — very easy to grow in our area.
December 17, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Hi Wayne, Thanks for the heads up on ‘Jean May’. I had been told that C. sasanqua was not hardy in our area and gets killed to the ground in hard winters. I wonder if you have had yours through a winter when we reach our hardiness lows. Maybe that will never happen again! Carolyn
December 17, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Well, Carolyn you had a perfect day for your visit . . . the light in your photographs is magic! I simply sit here in amazement at these beautiful flowers and shrubs . . . the foliage is stunning as well. I have never seen such a outstanding collection. Each is exquisite. I am extremely jealous . . . looking out on my barren land . . . imagining it really . . . for it is dark just now. How long will these blooms keep going? I suppose it depends on the weather . . . Of course it depends on the weather. There are still so many buds! What an inspiring post as was your Part One. Lovely!
December 17, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Thanks Carol. We have been having unseasonably low temperatures for mid-December around here, as low as 15 degrees. The buds on my own camellias look frozen, but they still have color. I will ask Charles what happened to his and report back. The buds of the spring-blooming camellias are already formed on the plants so they must go through very cold weather and still bloom. I am relatively new to this myself. I am so happy that when you looked at my photos, it looked like a perfect day for my visit. Actually it was sunnier than I like for photographs and the wind was whipping. Charles actually held the flowers still for some of the photos. Carolyn
December 18, 2010 at 7:11 am
I have a special love for camellias. Maybe because they never let me down but maybe they begin their show of color when all the other plants and shrubs are shutting down for winter. You displayed some spectacular varieties. My pick of your selections: Camellia x ‘Autumn Spirit’.
December 18, 2010 at 9:30 am
Hi Cheri, ‘Autumn Sprite’ is very beautiful. Glad you enjoyed the post. Carolyn
December 18, 2010 at 9:29 am
Beautiful and informative post. I appreciate the shots of the entire shrubs as well as I’m always interested in how a plant will work in the landscape.
December 18, 2010 at 9:32 am
Thanks, The shots of the entire shrub are harder than close ups. I think they make the flowers look small, which they aren’t, but I wanted to let people see how camellias grow. They can get quite big. Carolyn
December 18, 2010 at 10:13 am
All so beautiful!
The red one is my favorite too.
December 18, 2010 at 10:39 am
Hi Fer, I am glad you like the red one. I am trying to get Charles to give me one. Carolyn
December 18, 2010 at 2:34 pm
My favourite is the white Snowman – thanks for sharing we dont see to have autumn flowering camellias here in the UK
December 18, 2010 at 3:13 pm
That seems very odd since you would have a very long season for them to perform and hardiness would not be an issue. My favorite photo in the post is the photo of ‘Winter’s Snowman’. I’m glad you liked it. Carolyn
December 18, 2010 at 3:53 pm
hi Carolyn, the winters snowman is definately my favourite…
December 18, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Hi Michael, ‘Winter’s Snowman’ is leading the polls. I hope other readers will weigh in with their favorite. Carolyn
December 18, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Very pretty — I love the side-by-side shots!
December 18, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Thanks Meredith. I just learned how to do collages on Picasa and am really enjoying it. Carolyn
December 19, 2010 at 7:24 pm
The camilla pics are so crisp! I think I read about Charles’ garden in the newspaper before. Ther Inquirer I think. It looks like a great one to tour.
I especially loved your posting about the importance of the oak tree to so many native species. I posted it on my facebook page to pass the word along. I will be looking for that book too!
Merry Christmas!
Terri Higgins
December 19, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Thanks Terri. I am thinking of offering a winter blooming plants seminar at Charles’s garden in February or March—stay tuned. I am glad you liked my oak tree post. Thanks for putting it on Facebook. Doug Tallamy’s book is a must read. Carolyn
December 20, 2010 at 8:42 am
Enjoy all your articles. just started woodlands garden last year. have lots of
room and will be adding Camillias next year. will be looking for fragrant plants
to add.
December 20, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Hi Joe, Glad you are excited about camellias. They do need to be sited carefully. I will be covering evergreen ground covers for shade and the highly fragrant dwarf sweetbox in an upcoming article—stay tuned. Carolyn
December 20, 2010 at 10:36 am
They are so beautiful!
December 31, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Looking at a whole shrub full of these huge beautiful flowers in winter time is amazing. Carolyn
December 20, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Gorgeous camellias and such great photos too! Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
December 21, 2010 at 7:46 am
Thanks and have a great Christmas and New Year. Carolyn
December 22, 2010 at 3:58 am
I love white ones. They ones we have here are mildly fragrant. But they are very rare in our subtropical climate. Have a great Christmas as well.
December 22, 2010 at 9:10 am
Hi Muhammad, Thanks for your kind words. The white camellias seem to be most popular with my readers. Happy New Year. Carolyn
December 22, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I’m impressed that you can keep track of the names of all these camellias!!!
December 31, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Hi Eliza, I just got your comment because it was in a spam folder that I didn’t know I had. I could never keep track of all the camellia names. My husband came along and took notes for each photo as Charles narrated the names and info. Even then it took a while to correctly label each photo. It was worth it though. Carolyn
December 23, 2010 at 4:12 am
Dear Carolyn, as with Part 1, these are such mouth-wateringly divine images that would be unable to choose one so would have to have at least 2 – a red and a white. In the local garden centre, many of the autumn bloomers have brown buds and spoilt blooms – is the rain and wet a problem for Camellias?
thank you for your informative and beautifully illustrated posts. Glad I found your blog. Wishing you a Happy Christmas and will be back for more in 2011
Laura x
December 23, 2010 at 9:18 am
Hi Laura, I have read a lot about camellias and have never found a comment that rain and wet are a problem. I will ask Charles Cresson if I get a chance. Freezing temperatures will kill the flowers and damage the buds if they have expanded too far. If the buds are still tight, then if we have a warm spell in January, they will bloom. The buds on Ackerman hybrids are the most cold hardy and have the best chance of surviving no matter what the temperature, although no normally fall-blooming buds will make it all the way through to spring. Merry Christmas, Carolyn
November 6, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Is the red Camellia japonica the same as the future introduction Morris Mercury from the Morris Arboretum?
November 7, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Mike, Charles is working on introducing the red camellia, and I don’t think it’s through the Morris Arboretum so the answer is probably no. Carolyn
October 19, 2014 at 1:41 am
Do you know if Charles ever named or introduced the fall blooming red Camellia japonica? It has a more dense and lush growth habit than Morris Mercury. I really want one.
October 20, 2014 at 11:37 am
Sorry, Mike, he has not introduced it yet, although he still talks about doing it. Carolyn
April 5, 2019 at 3:57 pm
I really want one too!
May 12, 2012 at 9:46 am
Love your pictures. I just bought 3 Snowman camellias and want to use them for some privacy. Please post more landscaping pictures since i would love to know how your using them in the landscape design.
May 12, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Kay, I just mix them in with other shrubs and trees usually singly because I want a lot of different colors. Perhaps you should consult a landscape design site because that is not my area. Carolyn