Autumn Spirit Camellia

Early blooming camellias are usually of the sasanqua type – very attractive, but usually with smaller, simpler flowers than the spring-flowering japonica types. Modern breeders are adventurous, though, and sometimes an unusual crossing delivers a great result – as we see with the Autumn Spirit Camellia. A cross between a sasanqua and the Chinese oil-seed camellia, this early bloomer delivers a larger flower that is also fully double, like a loose-petalled peony. It’s a striking dark pink, whose heart turns a paler pink once it fully opens, and a fabulous bush to get the season off with a bang, in September. Yes, it really does brighten your autumn garden well into October. Depending on your climate it often continues into December, giving you up to 4 months of wonderful blooms. A great way to spread your camellia season into fall, and a great choice for colder zones too, as it will have finished blooming before the coldest weather arrives. A sturdy, upright bush perhaps reaching 8 feet in time, add this beauty to your garden and feel the spirit it brings to fall.

• Loose, peony-form flowers of glowing deep pink
• Blooms in September, and often continues into December
• Vigorous, cold-hardy bush will grow in a sheltered spot in zone 6
• Attractive deep green foliage makes for year-round appeal
• Should be planted in moist, acidic soil in partial shade

Your Autumn Spirit Camellia will thrive in a spot with some morning sun and shade later in the day. An east-facing spot with deciduous trees behind it would be ideal. Plant it in a moist but well-drained soil, and add plenty of lime-free compost when preparing the planting site. Avoid wet spots, and also dry areas. Use more of that compost as mulch over the roots, and water regularly, especially when young. This plant isn’t really drought tolerant, although very mature bushes may take quite a bit of dryness in the summer. Deer don’t eat it and it normally has no important pests or diseases – any problems are usually associated with a poor location and/or unsuitable soil. No pruning is needed or recommended, but if you do want to shape it a little, do this in early spring, before new growth begins.