‘Winter’s Snowman’ Camellia in Bloom

Last year I planted two ‘Winter’s Snowman’ camellias in the front garden. I was hoping that they would bloom last year but alas it was not to be, but they have started blooming this year! The first of the white camellia blooms opened today.  It wasn’t fully open when I snapped the picture but I just couldn’t wait to share it.  There are quite a few other buds on the same plant that soon will turn the front garden into a feature garden!  Well, it would if the weeds were gone, the mulching done, and the stars were aligned correctly but you know how that goes…there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done.

‘Winter Snowman’ camellia is a hybrid of Camellia sasanqua and Camellia oleifera. It’s hardy in zones 6-10 and gets about 12 feet tall.  Because of where this camellia is planted it will definitely need periodic pruning.  I planted two other camellias a couple weeks ago and I discovered yesterday that one of them had been nibbled on by a deer.  That in itself isn’t the end of the world but because it pulled the whole plant out of the soil it could be the end for one of those camellias.  I hope not! 

Propagating Camellia

Camellia will propagate but I’ve found it takes a long period of time and patience for roots to develop. In my experience rooting occurred in about 6 months after taking a hardwood cutting while dormant. It was treated with rooting hormone and kept outdoors under the shade of a tree in a pot with a few other cuttings. About 1 of five rooted in that time but the other cuttings were still alive. I left them in the pot to continue to root.