Camellia Japonica overwintering ideas

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Cambob

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USDA Zone
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Hey everyone! First post here!

For Christmas, my family gifted me a few trees that I'm super stoked about. One of them being a Camellia, and I'm not sure what to do with it this winter. I live in northern VA, Zone 7A, and we've been having a very mild winter so far, but I fear the temperatures will drop pretty hard after the new year.

I have a pretty good setup in my garage for tropical trees. My garage, which is insulated on all sides but the door due to being a townhouse garage, has a Mars Hydro SP3000 over my workbench that is temporarily covered with trees. The least cold hardy trees out there are also on top of a heating pad that keeps the roots at roughly 80º. the few that are not on the heating pad have showed no signs of struggling. The humidity is high enough that my tiny Ficus is pushing aerial roots. I have never seen the garage temperature drop below 60º.

Being a townhouse, I also have a 6ft fence around my tiny backyard which has the rest of my trees heeled in on the ground with leaves. So, I have a good setup for my trees to keep them protected from wind while still having access to rain and a few hours of some direct sunlight.

It's been uncharacteristically warm since christmas, so the Camellia is sitting on the bench on my second story back deck, which faces southwest, and is where my trees spend their growing season. Looking at the weather ahead, I will at least need to be protecting the Camellia after this coming weekend at night, and I'm not sure what to do with it. I have a good setup for tropicals. I have a good setup for temperate trees. I don't have anything for this one that's in between. Does a Camellia need a dormancy period? Could I just bring it inside the garage at night when it's too cold? or would that break dormancy, if required?

Thanks in advance for the help!
 
At the Missouri Botanical Gardens, they keep their Camellias in a heated greenhouse, they are not hardy here. I overwintered one last winter inside, under lights and it did fine. I have 3 inside this year, one has bloomed, the other will shortly. You are warmer than I am here, so maybe someone in your area will chime in. I think it would be fine in the garage if it gets cold but wouldn't need the heat mat.
 
Carol 83 said:
At the Missouri Botanical Gardens, they keep their Camellias in a heated greenhouse, they are not hardy here. I overwintered one last winter inside, under lights and it did fine. I have 3 inside this year, one has bloomed, the other will shortly. You are warmer than I am here, so maybe someone in your area will chime in. I think it would be fine in the garage if it gets cold but wouldn't need the heat mat.
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Hmm, interesting. I think moving forward, my plan is going to be to let it go where it’s at. If we get one or two cold nights but warmer days (like this weekend), I’ll heel it in and cover it with clear plastic. If it finally gets cold enough for a deep freeze, I’ll bring it into the garage and probably just keep it there until I bring everything back out in spring.
This is definitely my highest maintenance tree as far as winter care, thankfully!
Thanks for the input!
 
Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 
I don't know what the camellia "needs" in terms of a dormant period, but they do survive outside (in the ground) in areas like Virginia which experience some decent cold at times. I have one, but it's a sasanqua ("Yuletide"). I let it get exposed to near freezing temps in the fall, then bring it inside to an unheated room where temps are typically in the 40s (sometimes 30s) during the colder parts of winter. If you keep it warmer, like at room temp, it'll probably start growing in which case you'll have to provide good light or the growth will become weak/leggy.
 
coh said:
I don't know what the camellia "needs" in terms of a dormant period, but they do survive outside (in the ground) in areas like Virginia which experience some decent cold at times. I have one, but it's a sasanqua ("Yuletide"). I let it get exposed to near freezing temps in the fall, then bring it inside to an unheated room where temps are typically in the 40s (sometimes 30s) during the colder parts of winter. If you keep it warmer, like at room temp, it'll probably start growing in which case you'll have to provide good light or the growth will become weak/leggy.
Click to expand...
Good to know, thank you! I’ve got one of These lights overtop of my workbench in my garage. There are no windows. Hopefully that’s powerful enough to give her a false sense of springtime.
 
Most Camellia are winter hardy through zone 7, which means they can take some cold. But the pedigree or parentage of individual hybrids really determines just how cold they can go. Check descriptions of your specific Camellia hybrid. Some hybrids have been bred to tolerate zone 6 winters, but these are exceptional, you must know the cultivar names to know just how winter hardy your Camellia will be. If you don't know, assume 7b to be your limit.

One source of good information and hard to find cultivars is Camellia Forest Nursery in Chapel Hill, they do mail order in addition to walk in. I have ordered from them and have been happy with my purchases, they are not cheap, but they deliver clean plants, good quality, nice roots, correctly labelled. They are a landscape nursery, not a bonsai nursery.

camforest.com

Camellia Forest Nursery

Specializing in Camellias as well as trees and shrubs of Asian origin, we strive to deliver to your door healthy, vigorous plants that represent the wide variety within the Camellia genus.
camforest.com camforest.com
 
Leo in N E Illinois said:
Most Camellia are winter hardy through zone 7, which means they can take some cold. But the pedigree or parentage of individual hybrids really determines just how cold they can go. Check descriptions of your specific Camellia hybrid. Some hybrids have been bred to tolerate zone 6 winters, but these are exceptional, you must know the cultivar names to know just how winter hardy your Camellia will be. If you don't know, assume 7b to be your limit.

One source of good information and hard to find cultivars is Camellia Forest Nursery in Chapel Hill, they do mail order in addition to walk in. I have ordered from them and have been happy with my purchases, they are not cheap, but they deliver clean plants, good quality, nice roots, correctly labelled. They are a landscape nursery, not a bonsai nursery.

camforest.com

Camellia Forest Nursery

Specializing in Camellias as well as trees and shrubs of Asian origin, we strive to deliver to your door healthy, vigorous plants that represent the wide variety within the Camellia genus.
camforest.com camforest.com
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot, now I want more Camellia's. They have some really nice ones.
 
Carol 83 said:
Thanks a lot, now I want more Camellia's. They have some really nice ones.
Click to expand...

and they have a few hardy thru zone 6a, you might be able to put one or two in the ground.

They also have a list of the most fragrant of their Camellia's. That would be nice, a half dozen strongly fragrant Camellia.
 
I have a few small ones in the ground that survived (without any issue) the hard freeze we had last Feb. Temp was around 10 or 12f. The are very hardy so I think VA should be fine for them.
 
namnhi said:
I have a few small ones in the ground that survived (without any issue) the hard freeze we had last Feb. Temp was around 10 or 12f. The are very hardy so I think VA should be fine for them.
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Not a safe assumption. Brief intense cold does not penetrate very far into the ground. Long, cold winters, with temps reliably getting into the teens and twenties for a couple of months (like Jan. and Feb. and even March here in Va.) is a completely different story.

Camelia is iffy in Northern Va. outdoors. Depends on the variety. Some are more cold hardy than others, so it's important to know what you have.

This camelia (don't know specific variety, but someone chose well) was a garden tree in Southside Va.--south of Richmond for two or three decades. It was dug up and reduced for bonsai about 20 years ago. It is stored in a cold greenhouse for the winter where temps don't get below 30. Owners/developers found out the hard way that it gets VERY unhappy when temperatures drop below 28 or so. It drops all of its flower buds if exposed to colder snaps. It loses roots in low 20s and lower...
 

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Welcome Aboard @Cambob!

I hope your Camellia has done well through the storm. Hopefully you found a way to bring it inside or in some shelter.

Treat Camellias pretty much the same as azaleas and rhododendron. They are in the same family. Sometimes considered the royal family of the shade garden.

That said, there are differences in winter hardiness in camellia cultivars. So it pays to do some research. The very best source I know of for expert advice for Camellia horticulture would be Nuccios Nursery. They have been breeding both camellias and azalea for about 75 years. They are situated in Southern California, yet commonly ship across the country. They have a huge inventory. Ask for Jim or Tom Nuccio. 626 794 3383

I have personally purchased both Camellias and azaleas from these folks in multiple shipment up to Puget Sound WA.. Over 40. Recently purchased three cultivars late winter ‘21 that were put in the ground to grow out. They are doing fine after a week of 1’ of snow and ice and just yesterday poked their heads all the way out since it started the cold rain. All perky….but these are in the ground all mulched in, not in a pot. They are.

Buttons n Bows Compact and very bushy. Early to Med Saluenensis Hybrid
E.G. Waterhouse Light Pink Medium. Formal Double M-Late Saluenensis hybrid
Haru no Utena. Small to medium tubular single. Light pink w/deeper pink and red stripes. Medium Japonica

Cheers
DSD sends
 
Thank you everyone for your input and for the resources! I’m about to throw an audible at you here though.

When my mom made the purchase, she was left with instructions to pass along to me when she gifted it; repot soon as it’s badly overdue. I initially intended to wait until closer to spring, but being stuck at home bored and restless while recovering from Covid, I took care of it today.

I feel as though, considering the root work, this tree’s winter should end now, with the plan being to keep it in the garage. I sincerely hope you all agree. For the time being, it is on the floor next to the work bench. Still PLENTY bright enough to cast shadows down there (I think my light is overkill lol), so hopefully that’ll work. Thoughts?
 
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