Black Magic Camellia

Description

Black Magic is sure to cast a spell on anyone gazing upon its deep dark red, wavy petaled, double blossoms. Some flowers may show off the brightly contrasting yellow stamens.The rich green, serrated holly-like foliage adds to this Camellia's beauty and uniqueness. Mid to late season flowering with an upright to spreading growth habit.

Camellias are the rose of winter in southern gardens, with their colorful blossoms held against deep rich green glossy foliage on a naturally upright to rounded evergreen shrub. Pick the flowers and float them in a bowl of water to bring their beauty indoors. Camellias prefer an acidic, humus rich soil with an organic mulch and average moisture. Once well-established they need little additional care and will continue to perform for years to come. Most Camellias do best where they get light shade or morning sun and the light filtered shade of pines seems to be perfect. For more information about growing Camellias see ourCamellia Growing Guideor any of the excellent resources below:

Camellias Brighten the Winter Landscape- Get It Growing by Dan Gill with LSU Agcenter

Camellia Culture for Home Gardeners- UGA Extension by James T Midcap etal.

These large evergreen shrubs make easy container plants provided they get regular moisture and a good quality, well-draining, acidic potting soil. We prefer well aged, decomposted bark based mixes over peat based mixes and usually add a little extra sand or hadite to ensure good drainage. Container grown Camellias can suffer root damage if the soil is allowed to freeze so you will want to consider protecting them during any extended periods below freezing. They can usually tolerate overnight temperatures that dip as low as 20-25oF for short periods in 8" or larger containers. When grown or overwintered indoors provide them with plenty of cool direct sunlight. Preferably a few hours in the morning, in the late afternoon, or filtered light, like through a pine, is fine as well with high light conditions the remainder of the day whenever possible. For more on growing Camellias as container plants see the following article by Dan Gill with LSU Agcenter:Camellias are Outstanding in Containers.

Images courtesy of Green Nurseries.