Charming camellias for every garden

Camellias, who can resist them?

Camellias are one of the most popular winter and spring flowering shrubs, providing a vivid splash or colour when little else is in bloom. Although they need acidic soil, some camellias can grow really well in containers, with Ericaceous compost.

Camellias are woodland plants that grow best in shelter and light shade, although with careful watering, they can be grown in a sunny position. Camellias hate to be too dry, so the use of mulch is advisable. A layer of bark mulch will on top of the roots or pot will help to prevent the camellias from drying out.

Compact and vigorous, this is an eye-catching Japanese camellia with masses of medium-sized, bright red, rose-form flowers. The blooms contrast beautifully with the evergreen foliage.

The rich foliage of this lovely camellia will look good all through the year, but it is from late winter to mid-spring, when it produces lots of small, double flowers in fine shades of red, that this evergreen shrub will be most highly prized. It’s a handsome addition to the shrub border as it has an upright, pillar-like growth, so won't dominate its neighbours.

Grow beautiful blooms in an evergreen garden during the cooler months of the year. The Camellia Japonica Alba Plena produces a rich display of dense foliage and medium to large, pure white, double flowers. It is a hardy, long living plant that likes acidic soil. It looks great in a feature pot.

This is known for its formal double blossoms. This camellia has an abundance of deep blackish-red, formal double flowers from early spring. You will look forward to its blooms every year.

This is a dazzlingly pretty camellia with soft pink blooms sitting elegantly atop of rich, glossy green foliage. It produces fantastic flowers for weeks from January-March providing a dash of soft colour to the winter garden. As the bloom intensifies in early spring they are just spectacular. The petals are wonderfully arranged into a sophisticated double bloom arrangement tightly curled round a central cone creating a real spectacle.

Avoid a position that will get early morning sun and feed with a good slow release fertiliser. Also don't forget to mulch this time of year to prevent the shrub drying out in summer.