Camellia in a Pot: Indoor Care and Why Buds Drop

Camellia is an evergreen shrub with glossy leaves and flawless, almost waxy flowers in white, pink or red, single or double. It blooms in winter and early spring, when few other flowers are around. But camellias have a reputation for being fussy: in a warm flat they readily drop their buds. Here is what they need.

Flowering plants and bouquets: potted plants and peony-style roses.

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What kind of plant it is

The genus Camellia belongs to the tea family and comes from East and Southeast Asia. Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica) and its cultivars are the most common in homes and gardens. Its close relative Camellia sinensis is the plant whose leaves make tea. In literature the flower is famous from Alexandre Dumas fils’s novel “The Lady of the Camellias” (1848).

Camellia species and flower forms

• Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica) is the most common, with thousands of large-flowered varieties blooming in winter and spring.
• Sasanqua camellia (C. sasanqua) has smaller leaves and flowers, often lightly scented, and blooms in autumn and early winter.
• Netted camellia (C. reticulata) has very large flowers but is less often grown indoors.

Flower forms include single (one row of petals around yellow stamens), semi-double, anemone, peony and formal double, with perfectly even rows of petals. Colours range from white and blush pink to deep red and streaked.

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What camellias need

• Temperature. The most important point: while buds form and open (autumn to winter) the plant needs cool conditions, around 10–15 °C. A glazed balcony or a cool room works better than a windowsill above a radiator.
• Light. Bright but indirect, without strong midday sun.
• Soil. Acidic and open: use ready-made compost for azaleas and rhododendrons.
• Watering. Even moisture with soft, rain or filtered water; never let it dry out or become waterlogged.
• Humidity. High: a tray of wet clay pebbles or a humidifier.

Why camellias drop their buds

• The room is too warm or too dry.
• The pot was moved or turned after buds appeared.
• The soil dried out or, the opposite, the roots were waterlogged.
• Hard water, which gradually makes the soil less acidic.

If there are too many buds, you can remove some so the rest open larger.

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Care through the year

• After flowering: light shaping and a feed with fertiliser for acid-loving plants.
• Spring and summer: active growth; the camellia can go outside in partial shade.
• From late summer buds form: stop feeding and move the plant somewhere cool.
• Repotting: every 2–3 years after flowering, without burying the base of the stem.

Other houseplants flower in winter too; see “Winter-flowering houseplants”, and the showiest flowering species in “Beautiful flowering houseplants”.

How to propagate a camellia

The easiest way is from semi-ripe cuttings in summer. Take shoot tips 6–8 cm long with 2–3 leaves, dip the cut end in rooting hormone and plant into a peat-sand or perlite mix. Keep under film in warmth and bright indirect light. Rooting takes two months or more, and a young plant flowers after 2–3 years.

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FAQ

Can I grow a camellia in the garden?

Where winters are mild, yes, in a sheltered spot. In cold climates it is grown in a tub and kept in a cool, bright room in winter.

Why are my camellia leaves turning yellow?

Often because the soil is alkaline or the water hard, so the plant cannot take up iron. Repot into acidic compost and water with soft water.

How long does a camellia flower?

A single flower lasts about 1–3 weeks somewhere cool, and buds open in succession, so the bush flowers for 1–3 months. In warmth the flowers fade faster.

What temperature can a camellia tolerate?

A mature Japanese camellia in the ground survives brief frosts down to roughly −10 °C. Roots in a pot freeze more easily, so container plants are kept at no lower than 0…+5 °C in winter.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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