Commonplace they may be , but there 's nothing ordinary about camellias . Polished evergreen foliage provides a great contrast with brightly coloured flowers and brings life to dull winter gardens . And when the flowers open their '­alabaster petals ' — as the novelist Balzac put it — camellias are positively regal . They are easy to grow , but picky about soil . If yours is acid , free-draining and nutritious , they 'll thrive , but they mope in alkaline or neutral ground . So , if your soil does n't suit , plant in containers in ericaceous compost . The polished evergreen foliage of Camellias makes for a great contrast to the brightly coloured flowers . Camellias are amazingly versatile . You can give them free rein or prune to keep them compact . I 've seen them trained on walls , bent over arches and even grown as hedging . Tender kinds such as C. reticulata make outstanding conservatory plants . Camellias are happy in sun or shade and grow as readily among other shrubs as in isolation . Though frost will damage open flowers , the buds and plants of most are bone hardy . And unlike other spring shrubs , camellias stagger their flowering over a long time . PERFECT FOR POTS . Potted camellias wo n't last as long as those in the ground . They tend to lose their youthful charm after five or six years , but are not difficult to propagate . If you do n't want to buy new , take root cuttings and bring them on as replacements . The best time to take cuttings is between September and February , but you can try it now . Select healthy young shoots for leaf bud cuttings . Snip out sections , each with a single leaf and a little bud by the leaf stalk . Sever each stem just above that bud and again an inch below the leaf . Put the cutting in a mix of potting compost and grit or Perlite and place in a cold frame or propagator . This is also a good time to buy camellia plants . You can see them in flower , select your favourites and enjoy this year 's display . The choice is vast , with 250 wild species and hundreds more garden varieties . Camellia japonica — native to cooler regions of China , Japan and Korea — has given rise to the hardiest and prettiest . I grow sumptuous red semidouble Adolphe Audusson and single white Alba Simplex , which thrive in containers in our bracing Lincolnshire climate . The Williamsii hybrids are also gorgeous . Developed in the Twenties by J. C. Williams , the former owner of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall , they have a greatly extended flowering season . I grow the first-named of his progeny , St Ewe . If the weather is mild , the single pink flowers appear in midwinter and continue until April . PINK AND PERKY . You may not have heard of St Ewe , but you 're likely to know Donation , Britain 's most popular Camellia variety . The semi-double , subtly veined pink flowers have a translucent alabaster gleam and it never stints on flower numbers . If your soil is borderline acid , Williamsii camellias , such as Donation , seem to do best . Each spring , work sulphur powder into the ground round the plants at 200g per square metre to boost acidity . And feed camellias — as well as other lime-haters — with chelated iron tonic . Otherwise , problems are few . Premature bud drop is caused by lack of water in summer , so keep the potting compost moist . Yellowing foliage signals a magnesium deficiency , but you can cure that with Epsom salts . Dissolve 20g per litre of water and sprinkle on the leaves and the ground around the plant . If , in mid-spring , your bush is disfigured by too many dead flowers , grab the main stems and give them an energetic shake . A storm of dead petals and debris will fly in all directions — but the buds will be unharmed and a glorious new display will be imminent .
The dense evergreen foliage provides a contrast to the bright green . They are easy to grow and like acid , free - draining and nutritious soil . Camellias are happy in shade or shade and grow readily among other plants .