Camma Camellia

Camellias are the queen of winter flowers. Depending on the variety they bloom anywhere from late Autumn to early Spring, with flowers ranging from simple and open to big, ruffled, ornate blooms. Throughout the rest of the year, Camellias glossy dark green leaves make for a beautiful shrub or tree.

Camellia ‘Volunteer’ - a wonderful surprise seedling for a New Zealand plant breeder.

There are over 250 species of Camellias, but the most commonly known are Camellia sasanqua and Camellia japonica. Generally, C. sasanqua will bloom earlier: late Autumn to early Winter; C. japonica waits until closer to Spring. C. japonica are also known to have larger flowers and leaves, although with the amazing range of varieties breeders are developing, the boundaries are becoming blurred. Camellias are known for preferring shady conditions, but some C. sasanquas will take nearly full sun, especially once established.

My mum’s Camellia sasanqua tree - it’s over 4m tall! (and that’s an orange Rhododendron vireya in front)

Camellias are steeped in many cultural traditions across Asia. Camellia oil is a popular beauty product, particularly throughout Japan. It is primarily commercially derived from Camellia oleifera; however Camellia oil derived from C. japonica (called Tsubaki) is highly regarded and said to be used by geishas throughout history to maintain their perfect skin and silken hair (I should probably look into that…). Camellias also represent good fortune and chastity and in Buddhist rituals they are an auspicious flower. In the Yunnan Province in China, home to a number of Buddhist temples and shrines, there are many well maintained ancient Camellia trees that are hundreds of years old, the oldest of which was planted in the 1300’s (that’s over 600 years old!). Mostly these are Camellia reticulata.

Camellia sinensis - the tea camellia!

And of course we can’t go past the humble cup of tea. Whilst the flowers are smaller and un-remarkable compared to their flashy cousins, the leaves are the source of black, oolong and green tea, and have been drunk for thousands and thousands of years. The colour comes from how the leaves are processed and you need about a handful of fresh leaves for enough dried leaves for one cup of tea. Considering only the young tender shoots are used you might need a pretty big hedge if you want to be self sufficient (at least at the rate I drink it…).