Throughout gardens in Virginia, camellias stand as elegant and versatile shrubs, offering captivating displays of blooms. While many gardeners are familiar with the spring-blooming Camellia japonica, the fall blooming Camellia sasanqua offers a unique and equally stunning spectacle. With the right insight and planning, it’s possible to have a camellia garden that blooms from fall until spring depending on the varieties you choose.
Today, we’re going to focus on the fall blooming varieties of camellia and highlight some of the top choices you can find right now at Meadows Farms Nurseries.
What are Fall Camellias?
Camellia japonica is the spring-blooming varieties of camellia that begin their bloom cycle in late winter and continue through the first part of spring. For today’s post, we’re interested in Camellia sasanqua, the fall blooming varieties that begin their blooming in late fall and continue into the first part of winter.
Fall blooming camellias are generally hardier than their spring-blooming cousins, as well as being more drought and disease-tolerant. While most camellias prefer light shade, fall bloomers can tolerate more sun than spring-bloomers. It’s not all rosy for fall bloomers, as they tend to be smaller, both in growth and in flower size, than spring-blooming varieties.
Shop For Fall Blooming Camellia Varieties At Meadows Farms
Here are some of the best fall blooming camellias carried by Meadows Farms Nurseries. Please note that inventory varies between locations, so please contact your closest Meadows Farms location for availability information.
This variety has lovely peony-shaped deep pink flowers and rounded upright growth. It can grow anywhere from 4- to 6-feet in height with a similar spread.
This fall-blooming camellia comes loaded with fuchsia-red, medium-sized, peony-like blooms. It’s spreading habit makes it ideal as a hedge planting or a large foundation planting. Grows to about 4-feet tall but spreads around 8-feet or more, so make sure it has room to grow!
Lovely wavy-petaled, semi-double blooms of light rose-pink with a yellow center adorn this vigorous fall-bloomer. Cleopatra can reach a height and spread of 6- to 8-feet.
Upright, vigorous fall-bloomer with beautiful rose-pink blooms that are great as cut flowers. Make sure to leave plenty of space for your Kanjiro to grow. It can reach an average of 8- to 10-feet tall and wide.
Prized as being one of the best varieties of camellia for cold hardiness, the Survivor can handle most of what our climate can throw at it. Small, single white flowers with patches of pink on the sides adorn this upright camellia, which grows 6- to 8-feet tall and around 5-feet wide on average.
This fall bloomer will likely get you into the Christmas spirit with its deep red blooms complementing showy green foliage. Yuletide camellia grows to around 6 feet at maturity with a 4-foot spread.
This newer addition is a vigorous grower with medium-sized, formal white flowers that bloom in abundance. Autumn Moon is an upright yet compact grower, with a height of around 8-feet but a spread of only around 3-feet. It can work as a foundation or hedge planting but can even work in a container.
Do you have any Survivor or Autumn Moon in stock in Fred’burg?
I need a plant to replace a rhododendron that died unexpectedly after 15 years. The location is on the east side of, and next to, the house and it gets minimal sunlight because of adjacent trees and a deck. Would a camellia sasanqua be a good candidate for this location?
Do you have any fall blooming camellias that are trained for an espalier hedge? Will you carry any spring blooming ones in the coming spring?
Would the Autumn Moon work in partial shade?
Can one of the Fall Blooming Camellias be planted in a container and what about pruning as it reaches maturity? What is available at Burtonsville? I have a Spring blooming Camellia planed by my mom 30 years ago. I have it to remember her by. Joyce
Are the fall-blooming varieties deer resistant? How about the spring-blooming?
Hi Mike
Would the Autumn moon Sasanqua tree, survive in summer?
There will be shade only in the morning, then get the sun from 11am till sunset.
Thank you
Maria
In zone 7a, which Camellia varieties grow best in an environment with morning shade and afternoon sun? When is the best time to prune Camellias?
I have two very large fall bloomers. They are 6’ tall. Where is the best place to plant them?