Meet ‘Yuletide’ camellia. Now is its time to shine in North Texas gardens
This may mark the first time I’ve ever written about camellias in my columns here — and that’s not by accident. I certainly don’t consider myself the Metroplex expert on growing this challenging group of plants. But there are people who enjoy a good workout, and so I present one of my favorite cultivars, and the one that I’ve grown for the longest time in the Sperry home landscape.
Please meet ‘Yuletide’ camellia. Fact is, you may already have met her as you’ve been out browsing better nurseries in recent weeks. This is its season to shine, and so this is about the only time you’re likely to find it. If I were only going to have one camellia, this is the one I would choose.
Allow me to share some of its vital statistics. First and foremost, it’s a sasanqua camellia. Let’s flip that around and turn it into a scientific name. It’s a selection of Camellia sasanqua. That matters here in North Central Texas, because those are the types that tend to bloom earlier in the cold months. They flower in fall and early winter — before the worst of our cold weather.
Compare those with the larger, showier flowers of selections of Camellia japonica that bloom in mid-winter. Farther south, those are the highly prized favorites, but for us they are too often ruined by freezing weather that causes ice crystals to form in their tight buds. Tissues are ruptured, and those buds turn brown instead of opening into magnificent blooms. Camellia enthusiasts in North Texas often grow their japonicas in containers in greenhouses to keep that from happening. The rest of us opt instead for the easier sasanquas and their earlier habits.
The American Camellia Society website tells us that ‘Yuletide’ originated in Nuccio’s Nurseries in Altadena, California. They saw its first bloom in 1959 and obtained its Registration Number 1130 with the ACS in 1970. It quickly took off and was soon seen in nurseries on the West Coast and across the Gulf South. I bought mine in 1978.
Where most camellias are double-flowering (numerous petals), ‘Yuletide’ has only a single row of bright red petals. As with other sasanquas, its evergreen leaves are smaller than the japonicas and glossy, dark green. The plant is quite attractive even when it’s not in bloom, but it’s when those stunning red flowers start showing up in fall and early winter (now) that it really steps to the front in your garden.
I like to warn people of plants’ “margins of error.” How much abuse can any given plant tolerate? This one — not much. This is where the going gets rough.
Camellias need mostly shade. Early morning sun until 9 or 9:30 in summer, then shade the balance of the day will be best. They’re great understory shrubs, much like you would use cleyeras, aucubas, mahonias and azaleas.
Most nursery listings and plant labels will tell you that ‘Yuletide’ will grow to a mature height of six to 10 feet Practically speaking, however, in the Fort Worth area you’ll rarely see them grow that large. I would expect one I planted today to grow to four or five feet in my landscape, mostly because of limitations of soil nutrients and winter conditions.
‘Yuletide’ is winter hardy to Zone 7. I’ve gardened in this Metroplex area since 1970, and I’ve seen four or five winters that have damaged or killed them unless they were given some form of protection. Frost cloth will help, as would a sheltered location back in an alcove or entryway.
Do a little research and you’ll find that any camellia’s preferred soil pH (acidity/alkalinity) is 4.5 – 6.5. The Blackland Prairie soils are about as far from that as fire ants are from cuddly pets. Our soils average 7.5, and the tap water with which we irrigate is even worse.
So, what’s a gardener to do? You plant your camellia in pure organic matter. You dig a hole 18 to 20 inches deep and 48 inches across and you fill it with a mix of equal amounts of sphagnum peat moss and finely ground pine bark mulch. If you want to use a greater percentage of peat, that’s all the better. Mound the planting mix up 12 to 15 inches above the surrounding grade. It’s going to settle and decay over the years, so you’ll want to top dress each year with fresh layers of the same mix. And keep stirring in a sulfur soil-acidifier in tandem with an iron additive.
Other than winter damage, scale insects are camellias’ biggest concern. Watch their leaves, especially the back sides, for signs of immobile crusty growths. Horticultural oil sprays or systemic insecticides offer best control. The website of the American Camellia Society has very detailed information on identifying and controlling scales.
My suggestion as you consider your first camellia (hopefully ‘Yuletide) will be that you limit yourself to one plant until you feel confident that you can succeed. They’re beautiful additions to a garden at a season that could otherwise be bleak and uninteresting. But many will tell us: beauty doesn’t come easily.