Camellia Month-By-Month Calendar of Care:
Caring for camellias throughout the year ensures they stay healthy and vibrant, offering beautiful blooms each season. This month-by-month guide provides essential tips for watering, pruning, fertilizing, and protecting your camellias from pests and weather. From the early months of planting and preparing the soil to the critical stages of mulching and winter care, understanding the needs of your camellias in every season will keep them thriving. Whether you’re nurturing a young plant or maintaining a mature shrub, this calendar will help you enjoy lush foliage and colorful flowers year-round.
January
– Enjoy your camellias as they are blooming.
– Pick up and remove all dead blooms. Put them in a trash container.
– Water if dry to get the best blooms possible.
February
– If you wish to propagate your camellias, through grafting, now is the time to take scions and graft.
– Continue to pick up and remove all dead blooms and put them in a trash container.
– This is a good time to photograph your camellias and to visit Maclay Gardens.
March
– The camellias should be finishing up blooming now. If they stopped it is safe to begin pruning.
– Check for diseases or insects. If scale or insects are present, spray with insecticide/fungicide/miticide oil.
– Fertilize with 13-6-6 or Azalea/Camellia fertilizer. Water in after applying.
April
– If your camellias have stopped blooming, now is the time to prune and fertilize. You can prune later but you will cut off buds and you’ve caused the tree to waste energy forming the pruned buds.
May
– Mulch with pine straw 2 to 4 inches now if you did not when you pruned. Do not pile up pine straw or any mulch around the base of the tree. Move it back from the base of the tree 6 to 10 inches.
– If you wish to propagate your camellias through air layering, now is the time to air layer.
– Optional to fertilize a second time.
June
– You will need to water if it is hot and dry.
July
– It is now too late to prune as the buds have set.
– If you wish to propagate any of your camellias using cuttings, now is the time to take those cuttings from new growth.
– This is the last time this year to safely add fertilizer if you wish.
August
– You will need to water if it is hot and dry.
– Seed pods should be reaching maturity, collect and plant if desired.
– Start watching for spider mites over the next few months and spray with an oil-based insecticide.
September
– If you wish to show blooms this fall, now is the time to begin gibbing. You can repeat gibbing every other week through November. If you want bigger blooms you can remove all but one bud per terminal end of a branch.
– Sasanqua camellias should begin blooming now.
October
– Continue gibbing if desired. Check your air layers if you air layered. They can safely be removed from the mother plant now.
– Now is a good time to plant new camellias.
November
– Continue gibbing throughout the blooming season if desired.
– Remove all air layers if you have not already.
– Plant new camellias.
– Japonica camellias may begin blooming now.
December
– It is a good time to spray for scale and insects if problems are observed.
– Enjoy your camellias through the holidays by floating them in bowls or dipping them in wax.
Caring for Your Camellias
Fertilizer:
Camellias may be fertilized three times a year. However, they do not need to be. One to two times a year is sufficient. Apply fertilizer in March after blooming stops and then if you wish in May and July. Do not fertilize later than July because the new growth the fertilizer stimulates may not have time to harden off before the first freeze. You can use Azalea & Camellia fertilizers on established camellias or 13-6-6 on all camellias. Red directions and apply fertilizer as recommended based on the size of the plant. Water camellias before and after application.
Pruning:
Prune away dead and diseased limbs after the camellia has stopped blooming in March or April. Remove branches that cross and rub against each other. Remove limbs that touch the ground or the part of the limb that touches the ground. The part that touches the ground will act as a vector to bring bugs and diseases up into the plant. Remove branches to open up the center of the plant to allow some light and air to pass through. This is healthier for the camellia.
Mulch:
Camellas are acid-loving plants, and pine straw provides the acid they like, so most growers mulch with pine straw. Place the mulch 2 to 3 inches deep out to the drip line and a good 10 inches away from the base of the plant. Do not pile up pine straw around the base (volcano like). This holds in moisture and contributes to root rot.
Pick Up Spent Blooms:
It is recommended that you pick up spent blooms because, if left to rot, the fungus it produces will infect and reinfect the plant with Camellia Flower Blight.
Pests and Diseases:
Camellias that are correctly cared for are fairly problem-free. However, if you should identify scale, mites, or fungus, it is recommended that you apply a multi-purpose insecticide/miticide/fungicide oil every two weeks for three or more applications.
Propagation:
The most common ways to propagate camellias and get an exact duplicate of the mother plant are through grafting, air layering, and cuttings. Planting seeds is easy and successful. However, it will not be an exact match to the mother plant.
Glossary of Terms:
Scions: Scions are typically young branches or buds that you cut from a healthy camellia, which will eventually grow into a new plant.
Graft: Grafting involves joining a piece of one plant (called a scion) to the root system of another plant, allowing them to grow together as one.
Air Layering: Air layering is a propagation technique used to encourage a plant to develop roots while still attached to the parent plant. This method is particularly useful for plants that are difficult to propagate from cuttings.
Gibbing: Gibbing, or gibberellic acid treatment, is a horticultural technique that uses the plant hormone gibberellic acid to promote seed germination, stem elongation, and flowering. This method helps improve growth and yield in various plants, particularly those with hard seed coats or specific dormancy requirements.
Scale: Scale refers to a type of sap-sucking pest that attaches itself to plant stems, leaves, and branches, often appearing as small, flat, or raised bumps. These pests can weaken plants by feeding on their sap and may also excrete honeydew, leading to sooty mold and attracting other pests.
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