Japanese Camellia Camellia japonica CM Hovey

C.M. Hovey is one of the old dark reds, a nineteenth century Camellia japonica still grown here for its formal double blooms: deep crimson, petals laid in tight even rows, opening through the middle and later part of the camellia season. The plant behind them is upright and densely twiggy, slow to moderate in growth, clothed in thick glossy deep green leaves. That density is why it is used as a clipped hedge on the shaded side of a house, and as a long lived tub plant.

What a heritage japonica needs

Part shade is the requirement, and the detail matters: shelter from hot afternoon sun, and also from early morning sun striking buds that have frosted overnight, which browns the flowers before they open. Soil should be acidic, free draining and full of organic matter, with a permanent mulch of leaf litter or composted bark kept off the trunk. Water is moderate year round, and particularly through summer and autumn while next season's buds are filling. In a tub, use a camellia or azalea mix rather than a standard potting mix, and choose a container deep enough that the root ball does not cook on a paved surface.

The failure that kills more camellias than any pest is planting depth. Set the top of the root ball at or slightly above the finished soil level, never below it, and never let mulch or soil creep up over the graft or the base of the trunk. A camellia buried a few centimetres too deep does not die quickly. It sits, makes small pale leaves, flowers poorly and declines over several years while the owner adds more fertiliser.

Hovey next to the other reds

Three reds sit together here. Roger Hall is the compact one, better proportioned to a pot by a doorway. Emperor of Russia Variegated carries an anemone form bloom irregularly flecked with white, so no two flowers match. Hovey is the choice when you want the geometry: formal, symmetrical, uniform crimson, on a plant with enough substance to clip into a hedge rather than sit in a container. Buyers after a late season red for cutting should take Hovey, since formal doubles hold their shape in a vase better than looser forms do. Buyers who want variation in the flower should take Emperor of Russia. The rest of the range is in the camellia collection.

Pruning to the season, not the calendar

Prune as soon as the last blooms drop and before the plant starts into spring growth, because buds for next winter are set on that new wood through summer. Hedged plants can be cut back reasonably hard at that moment. Specimen plants usually need no more than thinning of crossing branches and shortening of any shoot that has broken the outline. If you want fewer, larger blooms, rub off the smaller side buds in autumn and leave one to a cluster. Feed straight after pruning with a camellia and azalea fertiliser, water deeply and refresh the mulch. Avoid late summer feeding, which pushes soft growth at the expense of bud set.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 2 sizes, from 70mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $38.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to camellia hedges and winter flowers.