Planting in Containers

The following are suggestions for successful container growing:

Never plant a small camellia in a very large pot.  This would be by far the most common cause of failure.

Make sure that the container selected, whether ceramic or wood has sufficient outlets to allow free drainage.

It is best to use a commercial tree and shrub mix, which will have the right drainage properties, and all the fertiliser needed for the first 6 to 9 months.  Thereafter we recommend use of a slow release fertiliser such as Osmocote Plus.  Small applications once or twice a year will be sufficient.  W e do not recommend the use of ‘acid ’ or ‘camellia/ azalea ’ powdered fertilisers. Their faster release can damage plants, particularly in the enclosed environment of a container.

Any camellia can be grown in a container, but generally the most satisfactory will be those that do not grow too quickly, and will thus demand less watering, fertilising and repotting. Consider those we describe as miniature growing, compact or weeping. The small leaf hybrids with their mass flowering make excellent container plants.

Container grown camellias will be happy in full sun at flowering time – there is little heat in the sun then – but give them semishade in summer.  The container and the root system of the plant will heat up if left in full summer sun.

Regular watering through the summer and dry autumn is essential for good results.  As with plants in the ground, a solid watering once or twice a week is much more effective than a daily sprinkle.

Re-pot when the root system completely fills the pot. At this stage the pot will be noted to dry out very quickly after rain or watering.  It is not always necessary to move the plant up into a larger container.  More often than not a good proportion of the rootball can be cut away – camellia roots are very hardy and a pruning saw or old breadknife will do the job.  Re-pot the plant back into the same container with fresh potting mix.  When doing this also top prune the plant to keep the top in proportion with the cut down root system.