How to Grow Camellias in the UK

Camellias want three things: acid soil (or ericaceous compost), shelter from cold winds and early morning sun, and plenty of water in summer while next year’s buds form. Get those right and you’ll have glossy evergreen leaves and big, showy flowers when the garden needs them most.

The RHS camellia guide suggests planting in autumn or spring and pruning only after flowering. Below you’ll find the main types, growing in pots, fixing common problems and a month-by-month guide. Our gardenia guide covers another acid-loving shrub.

Which camellias should you grow?

Three main types are worth knowing. Each flowers at a different time and has its own good points. The tea plant is a camellia too, and our growing tea guide covers it.

Camellia japonica, the classic

Japonica is the most popular camellia in the UK. Over many years it grows into a big evergreen shrub of 2-4m. It flowers from February to May, with large, formal flowers that can be single, semi-double or fully double.

The catch is that old flowers hang on the plant and turn brown. You’ll need to pick them off by hand after flowering. Easy on a young plant, more of a job on a big one. Good varieties:

• ‘Adolphe Audusson’: deep red, semi-double flowers in March and April. A reliable choice that grows to about 3m.
• ‘Nobilissima’: white flowers from January to March, so one of the earliest. It likes the shelter of a wall.
• ‘Elegans’: deep rose-pink flowers on a strong, arching plant. Easy to find in garden centres.

Camellia × williamsii, the easy favourite

Williamsii camellias are a cross between japonica and another species. You get big flowers, plus one handy bonus: the old flowers drop off by themselves, so there’s no deadheading.

They also flower generously and cope with more open spots than japonicas. If you only grow one camellia, start here. Good varieties:

• ‘Donation’: clear pink, semi-double flowers from February to April. Upright and vigorous, up to 4m.
• ‘Anticipation’: deep crimson-pink flowers in March and April. More compact at about 2.5m, so good for small gardens.
• ‘Debbie’: mid-pink flowers from February to April. Good for a sheltered town garden.

Camellia sasanqua, for autumn flowers

Sasanqua flowers from October to December, months before the others. The flowers are smaller and scented. These camellias cope with more sun and drier soil than japonicas, so they can go on a south-facing wall as well as a north-facing one.

‘Crimson King’ (deep red), ‘Narumigata’ (white with pink edges) and ‘Hugh Evans’ (pink) are easy to find. The autumn flowers don’t like frost, so give them a sheltered wall.

What conditions do camellias need?

Acid soil is a must

Camellias won’t thrive in chalky or limey soil. In the wrong soil they can’t take up iron, so the leaves turn yellow between the veins, flowering fades and the plant slowly sulks.

Test your soil before planting with a cheap kit from the garden centre. If it isn’t acid, grow your camellia in a pot of ericaceous compost. Trying to make heavy alkaline clay acid is a long, losing battle, and a pot gives you full control.

Ordinary multipurpose compost is fine for container vegetable gardening, but camellias must have ericaceous compost. The two aren’t interchangeable.

Rainwater is best

Tap water in much of the UK is hard, which means it has lime in it. Over time it makes the soil or compost less acid, even if you started with fresh ericaceous compost.

So water camellias with rainwater whenever you can. A water butt nearby makes life easy. Tap water is fine in a pinch, but make rainwater the habit.

Pick the right spot

The most common mistake is an east-facing spot. Early morning sun thaws frozen buds too quickly, and they turn brown and fall. It looks like frost damage, but the real problem is the fast thaw.

A north or west-facing wall is ideal. On a north wall the buds thaw slowly. On a west wall the sun only arrives in the afternoon, once the air has warmed up. Dappled shade under deciduous trees works well too.

Keep them away from cold east or north-east winds in winter. A hedge or fence as a windbreak makes a real difference.

How to plant a camellia

When: September to October, or March to April. Avoid winter, when cold ground slows the roots down.

How: Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and no deeper. On alkaline soil, fill the hole with ericaceous compost. On acid soil, mix ericaceous compost half and half with your own soil. Plant with the top of the root ball level with the soil surface, as camellias don’t like being buried deep.

Mulch: Spread 5-7cm of pine bark, pine needles or leaf mould over the roots, keeping it off the stem. Top it up each spring. Mulch keeps the roots cool and moist.

Feed: Use an ericaceous plant food from April to July. Sprinkle a granular feed in spring and add a liquid feed monthly through early summer. Stop by August, as late feeding makes soft growth that frost can damage.

Camellias get on well with other acid-lovers. Blueberries like even more acid soil, and they’re happy with the same water butt and bark mulch.

Growing camellias in pots

Pots are the answer if you garden on chalk, limestone or alkaline clay. They take the soil problem away completely, and camellias can live happily in a pot for years.

Choose a pot at least 40cm across, and bigger is better. Terracotta looks lovely but dries out fast and can crack in hard frosts. A large plastic or fibreglass pot with drainage holes is more practical. Fill it with good ericaceous compost.

Water steadily from spring to autumn. If the compost dries right out, next year’s buds can shrivel and drop. Don’t let the pot sit in water either, as camellias hate soggy roots.

Repot every three or four years into a slightly bigger pot with fresh ericaceous compost. This also tops up the acidity, which slowly fades if you water with tap water.

Camellia varieties compared

Month-by-month camellia calendar

Fixing common camellia problems

Yellow leaves

Yellow leaves with green veins mean the soil isn’t acid enough and the plant can’t get iron. Water the roots with sequestered iron (sold as a tonic for acid-loving plants), switch to rainwater and mulch with pine bark. If it’s in a pot and badly yellow, repot it into fresh ericaceous compost.

Brown flower buds

Buds that go brown and don’t open have almost always thawed too fast after a frost. The fix is shelter from early morning sun. If the plant is in a bad spot, move it to a north or west-facing position in autumn. A fleece screen on the east side helps in the meantime.

Brown buds that never open usually mean early sun thawed them too fast after a frost. A north or west-facing spot lets them thaw slowly.

Buds that drop before opening

A dry summer is usually to blame. Next year’s buds form in June and July, and if the plant goes short of water then, it drops them. Water steadily from June to September, and check pots every day in hot weather.

For more winter colour in the same shady spots, try hellebores, which flower from January to April. Our list of the best winter flowering plants has more shrubs and perennials to keep things cheerful.

Pruning camellias

Camellias need very little pruning. Prune only to remove dead or crossing branches, keep the size in check, or rescue an overgrown plant.

Prune straight after flowering, ideally late April to May. Next year’s buds form over summer, so later pruning cuts them off. Camellias cope well with hard pruning and will regrow from old wood, though flowering may take a season to come back.

Never prune in autumn or winter. The buds are already there from August, and cutting now means no flowers next spring.

Our pick for beginners: C. × williamsii ‘Donation’. It has pretty semi-double pink flowers and drops its old blooms by itself. Give it acid soil and keep its buds out of early morning sun and cold, drying winds.

Camellias with other plants

Camellias get on well with other plants that like shade and acid soil. Hydrangeas like the same sheltered spots and moist soil, so camellias in late winter followed by hydrangeas in summer gives you colour for much of the year. Azaleas need acid soil and shelter too, and our guide on how to grow azaleas in the UK has the details.

Roses don’t mind slightly less acid soil, but they grow well beside camellias where the ground is mildly acid. Try camellias at the back of a border, roses in the middle, and hellebores and pulmonarias at the front.

For more ideas, our guide to the best plants for shade covers ferns, hostas and shrubs that look great beside camellias.

Now you’ve mastered camellias, read our guide on growing blueberries in the UK. They like the same acid soil and the same care routine.

Frequently asked questions

What soil do camellias need?

Camellias need acid soil. If your garden is chalky or neutral, grow them in a pot of ericaceous compost instead. Keep lime and mushroom compost well away from them, as both make the soil less acid and turn the leaves yellow.

Why are my camellia buds going brown?

Usually early morning sun thawing frozen buds too fast. Move the plant to a north or west-facing spot, or cover it with fleece on frosty nights. Buds can also brown and drop if the plant went short of water the summer before.

Can camellias grow in pots?

Yes, they make great pot plants. Use a big pot with drainage holes and fill it with ericaceous compost. Water often with rainwater, as pots dry out fast. Feed monthly from spring to midsummer with an ericaceous liquid feed, and repot every three or four years.

When do camellias flower in the UK?

It depends on the type you grow. Sasanqua camellias flower from October to December. Williamsii types flower from late winter to April, and japonicas from February to May. Grow one of each for flowers from autumn right through to late spring.

Do camellias need pruning?

Hardly at all, which is good news. Snip out dead, damaged or crossing branches straight after flowering in spring. You can cut back harder in April to shrink a big plant, but you’ll lose some flowers for a year. Never prune in autumn, as you’ll cut off next year’s buds.