Impulse bought a Camellia. How to care for it?

That is allowed.

 

I disagree, its not.

 

Has panto season started early this yr?

 

That looks great @Cardiff Garden , much more balanced. I think the roots will be fine, it looks a lot less pot-bound than I thought it would.

 

'Oh no it hasn't' @ViewAhead .....
Cheeky bandit @pete!

I learned a long time ago that thorough prep pays off. I couldn't afford to keep replacing anything that died, so it was a 'crossing Ts and dotting Is' scenario most of the time. That way, if a plant of any kind fails, it's mainly down to the wrong/inadequate care by me! Often it was just a question of not being hardy enough to thrive, or survive, here.

Not a problem with most Camellias though, although the flowers often get wrecked by rough weather just when you hoe to enjoy them, so I gave up on them a long time ago. I agree that it's looking fine re the root system @Cardiff Garden, so it should do well for you.

 

Morning all,

Is there any way of knowing what colour flowers the camellia will have at this stage before I've seen it bloom?

The reason being that I'm thinking of putting another flowering plant in the planter the Camellia came in and would probably choose a colour different to the Camellia.

Also: what are people's thoughts on a Rhodendron being in the other planter?

I had thought of putting a bay tree or olive tree in it. But I have Bay and Cherry Laurels already, and I don't eat olives (although perhaps I'd start to if I had my own supply!)

 

If the name of the variety wasn't on the label, there's no way of knowing what colour the flowers will be until the buds start to open. My money's on pink though. C. williamsii "Donation" is one of the most reliable and commonest varieties.

Edit - I had another look at your picture showing the label, but when I zoom in to look at the small print, it's too fuzzy to read. Showing the variety in the Plant Passport section of the label is optional, but if there's a code you could put it into a search engine and see if anything useful turns up.

 

This is what the labels say:

 

Its a C. Japonica so have a look here, most likely colours are red or pink, but lots of varieties.
https://www.ashwoodnurseries.com/shop/camellia-japonica-roger-hall.html

 

Red would be fantastic. But either way is fine.

I was looking at this in B&Q today. £35:

 

It says on it that it grows to 50cms, but it seems taller than that already.

 

@Cardiff Garden, I would think they mean the top growth, ignoring the stem it is grafted on to. That said, I'd expect it to grow to more than 50 cms. Garden centre labels tend to underplay final height/spread, for fear of putting off potential purchasers.

 

Wow - just the head itself? It will probably grow quite big then. Which is fine actually as it's a nice looking plant. B&Q want £35 for it (half price).

 

Bargain!

 

Went back to B&Q to buy this today and it was gone.