Camellia x williamsii |
Origin: China
Zone Range: 7-9
Preferred Situation: Sunny sites; well draining deep evenly moist good soil.
Harvest Date: Thursday 08 November, 2007
Description:
A lovely evergreen shrub/tree reaching 5 meters at maturity. Gorgeous thick leathery leaves, but the cupped semi double blooms are spectacular! Flowering begins in late February in a continueous series onto May in cool, sunny Spring conditions. Blooms fall cleanly from the plant so you never need to pick off spent flowers clinging to its branches. Barely fragrant but what a show! No wonder why Camellias are often referred to as 'The Empress of Winter'!
Notes:
An interspecies hybrid between C. japonica and C. saluenensis. This is a tough plant tolerating more shade, cold and frost than other Camellia types with an extremely prolonged bloom time. Rarely bothered by pests and disease.
Cultivation:
Seed must never dry out (like Magnolias and Paeonia). Kept moist cold stored at 4C. Easy to germinate (hence the thousands of varieties available). Because floating seed denotes reduced germination, we will test before shipping as neither 24 hour warm water soak nor prayer cast to your favorite deity will help. Sow immediately upon receiving in a moist but well draining sterile medium. Cover 6 mm with moist medium. Tamp firm. Keep moist. A clear plastic cover greatly improves success. Optimum germination temp: 20 C. Should germinate in 3-6 weeks.
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