Hello everyone! While at Lowes for something completely unrelated, I found myself buying a Camellia they had on the clearance table. It is a sasanqua 'Cleopatra.' I really want to plant this properly and in right spot. I have done a bunch of searches and I am thoroughly confused as to what I am supposed to do. I am not sure how to determine what a "sheltered area" is in my yard. I also do not know how to determine the sun exposure because it is much different right now as opposed to the spring and summer. I've read to both protect it from early morning sun and also give it exposure that should be early morning sun. There is a lot of disagreement out there about whether it should be planted in shade or sun. Finally, a lot of sites said it is a good idea to plant these in early spring - should I keep it over winter inside? Sorry for the ramble, any advice would be appreciated!

Do you know what hardiness zone you are in? I'm not sure Camellia sasanqua is hardy in your area. I'm not sure about fall planting in your area but in the house is not a solution. Do you have a garage with a window? Maybe you could bury the pot in the garden and cover it with leaves to protect it from the cold until spring.

Camellia sasanqua needs dappled morning sun with afternoon shade -they really are shade plants. If part of the year is going to be sunny, make it winter.

Dig in lots of milled peat - they are acid loving plants.

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. Some sites will put me in 7a but most have me in 7b. I have an attached garage that isn't heated but it doesn't get colder than 55 in there because of it being protected by the heated house. Is it more important that I plant based on the sun exposure, as opposed to the "sheltered" from winds? I have an area by some tall evergreens that give a very dappled light but a short window of direct afternoon sun in summer, maybe an hour or so. Right now, we've had one night of killing frost this week but are heading into a milder period. In the 60s. Nj weather is like a rollercoaster in fall and spring.

Wind is a sometimes thing while sun is every day. I would worry more about sun than wind - that sounds like a good spot.

I would be tempted to plant it now and protect it this first winter. It may not have time to root before bad weather but the earth is more insulting than just a pot. As Camillias are evergreen, they need winter light so a dark garage wouldn't keep it happy.

I think the recommendation for spring planting is for transplanting one already growing on-site.

`I have a number of sasanquas, and they are a lot hardier than what you are reading.

while planting in the shade garden is the usual... I have some growing in full sun... Down here!



dunno bout the wind issue... I'm very opposed to being in the wind, I've left plenty of forest at the edge(s) of the garden / living space...

Personally, I'd plant this camelia someplace where it can be seen when it is flowering... which some of mine are doing now...

Are you sure that you were warned against morning sun?
That doesn't sound right.

The evergreens sound like a good place to plant, but I would endeavor to protect against afternoon sun. Morning sun is the good stuff.

https://www.tynursery.com/plan...

I think you should pay more attention to the soil...
does your soil retain water?

what's the perc like?
maybe research "soil percolation test", if you don't know what I mean...
I can't remember seeing these growing in heavy clay... but sand? no prob.

Hi Stone,

I planted the camellia by the evergreens on the 16th and it looks pretty good. The temperature dropped very low a few nights and the flowers that were open seem to sort of liquify, but the buds didn't get killed off. The soil is good, acidic, very good drainage and I planted the rootball a little high. I couldn't believe how deeply the soil was piled over the root ball in the container. I gently remove about 3" of soil until I saw what I think is the root flare. I'm still unsure how to tell what's a root flare vs adventitious? roots on shrubs. It's seems trickier than on trees.

The instructions I read had said morning sun was a problem in winter but good in summer/spring. Kind of a hard goal to achieve in my yard.

I put a frame around it with burlap as it is getting a lot of sun there right now and it's been cold and very windy. It isn't touching the plant at all so I don't think it's providing insulation, just a break from the wind and sun. In the spring when the dogwood leafs out, it will get mostly filtered sun, with a short burst of late afternoon sun. Hoping it is happy here! I'm still somewhat confused by these beautiful shrubs. I feel like the weather here will be too cold for their estimated bloom time of late fall/early winter. Wont be able to enjoy it much if I have to cover it.

Yeah... the tendency for the flowers to turn brown with the cold is kind of a bummer...

Let's cross fingers as to how happy the camelia decides to be...

I still would have prefered morning sun to afternoon... but, maybe you can give us a report in a year or two...
It's always helpful to get grow reports...

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post an updated pic. Seems like it made it through the worst part of winter ok. The leaves that got sun from above the burlap enclosure look at little fried. Not sure when to take the protection off. Until the dogwood leafs out, it will be in a lot of sun. Not sure if I picked the best spot. I wonder if I should plant some sort of evergreen screen in the area above it that would provide some filtered shade.

I don't think that's from sun. Seems likely due to the cold.
As I mentioned above, They do fine in the full sun down here where the sunlight is harsher than your area.

While they tolerate a good deal of shade... I've noticed that they don't produce blooms as quickly (at my house) as when they get better light.

As far as when to remove the enclosure?
What kind of weather do you usually get from here on out?

Spring at my house... But last year, we had a late freeze in March... Killed all the flowers on all the fruit trees... Apparently, the peach growers lost 90% of their crop...

Oh ok. I just figured it was the sun because it is only towards the top where it sticks up from the enclosure. Should I prune the damage off?

Northern New Jersey is usually a rollercoaster weather-wise this time of year. It theoretically should be mid 50s with lows in the mid 30s. However, we will be in the 60's today with rain, but plummet tomorrow to 27, then back to almost 60 by Sunday. I made a little frame and wrapped this with burlap so it is very easy to take it off and put it back on. I was more concerned about too much sun.

sukimossy7 said: Should I prune the damage off?

I'd leave alone.
Getting too fussy with our plants hurts more than it helps.

Our weather has been very warm the past few days. Mostly in the 60s we hit 73 today. It's gonna go back into the 50s and 60s and maybe into the 40s by the middle of next week. The lowest predicted temperature right now is about 32. Trying to decide if it's time to remove its burlap cozy!