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January camellia care tips for the Camellia City

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 15, 2020

Early-flowering Christmas camellias may be pruned and fertilized after they finish blooming. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Wait until after bloom for pruning or feeding

In the Camellia City, camellias are taking center stage.

These popular winter bloomers add color (and sometimes a little fragrance) to often gray days. It’s no wonder why we love them.

First to open are the Christmas camellias, which – true to their nickname – flowered throughout December and are still blooming now.

Next come the Japonica camellias, the pride of Sacramento and stars of the late winter garden. They tend to open in February.

Knowing which is which is important when it comes to camellia care.

As they finish flowering, prune Christmas camellias (Camellia sasanqua), the early-flowering varieties. They don’t need much, but selective pruning can promote bushiness, upright growth and more bloom next winter.

Feed with an acid-type fertilizer formulated for camellias, which prefer slightly acid soils.

But don’t feed your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming in early March. Feeding while camellias are in bloom may cause them to drop unopened buds.

April is the best time to shape Japonica camellias, after they’ve finished their bloom cycle. Like the Sasanqua, the Japonicas need little if any trimming. They grow very slowly – and for a very long time. Healthy camellias can live for several decades.

Got some stunning camellia varieties in your garden? The 96th annual Sacramento Camellia Show will be held March 7 and 8 at the Elks Lodge, 6446 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento.

To learn more about the show and camellias, contact the Camellia Society of Sacramento.

Details: www.camelliasocietyofsacramento.org .

-- Debbie Arrington

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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