This unpretentious shrub will fill your autumn and winter garden with beautiful flowers.

Brighten up your fall and winter landscape with an abundance of flowers in this charming Southern classic.

Early Wonder® Camellia from the Southern Living Plant Collection combines the best qualities of Japanese camellias with a fall flowering cycle. Sasanqua camellia. This gorgeous, low maintenance bush begins to bloom in the fall, when traditionally only sasanqua camellias bloom! The stunning pink double flowers continue to open into the winter months, providing long lasting color in the conservatory and lovely cut flowers to bring into the home.

In addition to beautiful blooms, Early Wonder® Camellia produces beautiful dark green foliage that is eye-catching year-round. This vigorous, erect flower reaches six to eight feet tall and four to six feet wide at maturity, making it a wonderful accent for shady gardens. Take advantage of the height for grouping borders and privacy plantings, or place individual plants in large containers to brighten up a porch or patio.

Plant attributes

Early Wonder® Camellia Care

Early Miracle® Camellia in southern gardens can be planted in autumn and early spring. Select a planting location that is protected from the drying effects of winter winds. Camellia plants are susceptible to root diseases and require soil with good drainage. Give these slow-growing, shallow-rooted plants enough space to develop healthy root systems free from competition from neighboring plants. Once established, they live in the landscape for quite a long time.

Light

Camellias tolerate full sun, but grow and bloom best in indirect light or partial shade. Young plants are more sensitive to the sun and benefit from being planted in a sheltered location. Provide camellias with protection from the hot afternoon sun. Camellias grown in the northern part of their range require shelter from winter sun to reduce damage from cold.

Earth

Good drainage is essential to growing healthy camellias. Plant in loose, well-drained, slightly acidic soil rich in organic matter. Avoid planting camellias in heavy clay soil or in areas where water pools. If drainage is an issue, add compost to the soil and plant the plants on mounds or berms. Camellias do not tolerate alkaline soils, which can cause yellowing of the foliage.

Water

Early Wonder® camellias thrive with regular moisture, but do not tolerate wet feet. Provide young plants with even and constant moisture for the first two years of their life, but avoid overwatering. Mulch the roots to maintain soil moisture between waterings or rains. Once established, plants require less additional water, but do require regular watering during flower bud development, which begins in mid-summer. If dry periods occur during this time, provide additional watering to prevent bud drop.

Temperature and humidity

Camellia Early Wonder® is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 9. The plants thrive in the warm, moist conditions of the Mid, Lower and Coastal South, although they do not tolerate salt spray. In the Upper South, provide camellias with protection from winter winds and plant in partial shade to prevent problems associated with temperature changes during frost.

Fertilizers

Camellia plants are very demanding when it comes to nutrition and benefit from fertilizing them with an acid-forming azalea or camellia fertilizer during the growing season. The American Camellia Society recommends fertilizing in early March, early May and early July. Young camellias require higher concentrations of nitrogen to maintain growth than mature plants, so choose your fertilizers accordingly. Apply only the recommended rate of fertilizer.

Early Wonder® Camellia Pruning

Camellias benefit from light pruning after they finish flowering to maintain an attractive shape and to open the canopy so air and sunlight can reach the inner foliage. Start by removing all dead branches. Also look for branches that are crossing or rubbing against each other and remove one or both.
These pruning steps will help open up the canopy. To shape plants, trim disproportionately long shoots by cutting them back to a leaf or side branch. Lower branches can be shortened to maintain more upright growth.

How to Get Early Wonder® Camellias to Bloom

Some bud drop on camellias is normal as plants often produce more flower buds than they can support, but when plants don’t bloom fully, it’s time to consider changes to the plant culture. Too much nitrogen fertilizer stimulates the development of shoots and leaves to the detriment of flowering. Likewise, too much or too little water can affect flowering, and summer drought can cause buds to drop. Try to keep the water always moist, but not soggy. Make sure plants are located in soil that drains well, and be sure to supplement rainfall during dry periods.

Early Wonder® camellias bloom best when they receive ample sunlight. Make sure the planting area is not too shaded. Consider pruning a few branches from overhead trees to allow more sunlight to penetrate. Pruning camellias at the wrong time of year can also reduce flowering. Camellias begin to set flower buds as growth resumes in the spring and summer. Pruning immediately after flowering has finished will ensure that flower buds are not removed by mistake. Finally, some causes of bud drop are beyond your control. Late spring frosts can damage developing buds and cause them to fall off.

Wintering

Camellia Early Wonder® benefits from a layer of mulch in winter, moderate soil temperatures and moisture retention. In colder regions of the South, plant camellias in areas protected from strong winter winds. Water the plants well in autumn and winter. Avoid pruning and fertilizing late in the season, as they promote new growth that won’t have time to harden off before freezing temperatures arrive.

Camellias tolerate temperatures as low as 0˚F. If temperatures are forecast to fall below this level, consider protecting your plants with blankets or several layers of horticultural fleece. Camellias growing in containers are less insulated from cold temperatures and need protection when temperatures drop below 20˚F. Insulate containers by wrapping pots in several layers of bubble wrap, extending to ground level and a couple of inches above the rim of the pot. Fill the top of the pot with dry leaves and mulch the bottom. If below-freezing temperatures are expected, consider moving potted plants to an unheated greenhouse or garage.

Propagation of Camellia Early Wonder®

Camellia Early Wonder® is protected by patent and cannot be propagated.

Planting and replanting Camellia Early Wonder®

Camellias are easy to grow in containers and make a wonderful addition to patio plantings. Select a container with good drainage and use a frost-resistant pot in areas where frost is expected during the winter. When planting nursery-grown camellias or replanting existing plants, choose a container one to two sizes larger than the current pot. Camellias need to be replanted every two to three years into larger containers and fresh soil.

Provide Early Wonder® Camellia with well-drained, acidic soil, such as a commercial mix designed for rhododendrons and azaleas or camellias. A mixture of equal parts of coarse sand, finely ground pine bark and oak leaf will also work well. Container-grown camellias grow best in morning sun and afternoon shade or filtered light throughout the day. They also dry out faster than those planted in the ground. Be sure to water containers deeply when the top two inches of soil feel dry to the touch. Fertilize potted camellias with a water-soluble acid-loving plant fertilizer according to label directions.
directions from spring to mid-summer.

Common plant pests and diseases

Insect pests of camellias include tea scales and aphids, which produce a waste called honeydew that promotes the growth of sooty mold on the foliage. Control scale insects and aphids using horticultural oil following label directions. Sooty mold problems will go away if the insects are controlled.

Camellias are also susceptible to a number of diseases, the most serious of which are flower blight, root rot, and camellia dieback and canker. Most disease problems can be avoided by proper plant care, including planting in well-drained soil, proper fertilization and maintaining proper soil acidity, and avoiding damaged or wounded stems.

Symptoms of camellia dieback and canker include sudden wilting and yellowing of foliage and dying of branch tips. This fungal disease appears as gray spots on the bark that eventually develop into sunken cankers. Remove diseased branches by cutting them a few inches below the affected area and burn or throw the cuttings in the trash. Disinfect pruning tools between cuts.

Late blight of flowers or petals is also caused by a fungal pathogen. This causes flower petals to quickly turn brown and fall off, usually within 24 to 48 hours. Maintain good sanitation to limit the spread of this disease. Collect and destroy any fallen flowers, as well as any infected flowers remaining on the plant. Also remove and discard the mulch around the base of the plants and replace it with a fresh layer.

Common problems

Paying attention to soil health also prevents a common problem with camellias: chlorosis. Chlorosis causes leaves to turn yellow while retaining green veins and is the result of improper soil pH. When planted in neutral or alkaline soil, camellias cannot absorb enough nutrients. This can easily be corrected by adding garden sulfur to the soil to adjust the pH.

Burnt or bronzed areas on leaves usually indicate sunburn. Sunburn can become a problem if camellias receive too much sun. Most often this is typical for plants located along a wall with intense southern or western exposure. Plants moved from shady areas to full sun can also become sunburned. Providing plants with adequate protection from intense midday sun will usually prevent this problem.

Camellias are tough plants that can withstand the occasional insect, disease, and other problems quite well. Basic plant culture and care go a long way to preventing common problems and ensuring that your camellias remain healthy and blooming for years to come.

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