F. William'. As well as 'Prince Frederick William', Silas Sheather also developed the cultivar Camellia japonica 'Harriet Beecher Sheather' (1872), named after his daughter. Both of these cultivars are still commercially available. Other camellia cultivars developed by Sheather were 'Astarte', 'Minnie Warren', 'Mrs. Dellissa', 'Sheatheri' and 'St. George'. 'Prince Frederick William' received a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit in 1953. This award is given to plants deemed 'of great merit for exhibition'. Camellia japonica 'Lady Hope' is a sport of 'Prince Frederick William'. Cultivation Camellia japonica and its cultivars prefer slightly acidic soils pH 6–7 and are suitable for growing in hardiness zones 6–9. In their native habitat, camellias are understorey plants, and in temperate climates (e.g. Sydney), this cultivar requires semi-shade and no direct sun before 12 noon on a winter's day when flowering, as the lighter colored blooms can suffer from dew burn on the blossoms from being exposed to direct morning sunlight. When mature, 'Prince Frederick William' is prone to "balling", where too many buds form on the one stem resulting in either small, poorly formed blooms, or the buds turn brown and spoil the look of the plant. These excess blooms take much energy out of the plant and can weaken the plant. The solution is to manually disbud the excess flowers by twisting the excess buds off so that only one bud per stem remains. This will help to develop well-formed flowers and a stronger, healthier plant. It is claimed that a teaspoon of Epsom salts in five litres of water spread around the bush is beneficial in preventing "balling". See also Camellia japonica 'The Czar' Notes and references japonica 'Prince Frederick William' Ornamental plant cultivars