Japanese Camellia Camellia japonica Ecclesfield

Ecclesfield is a japonica of the traditional kind: a slow to moderate evergreen with thick, glossy, dark green leaves held densely enough to make a solid face, flowering through the cooler months when the shaded side of a garden has nothing else going on. That timing is the reason to plant it. Slow growth means fewer cuts a year and a face that stays where you put it, whether the plant is holding a clipped run, filling a large pot or anchoring a shaded border.

Placing Ecclesfield on the shaded side

Part shade suits it, and the pattern to aim for is gentle morning light with full protection from western sun. Hot afternoon exposure bleaches the leaves to a yellow green and browns buds before they open. It performs through the cool and warm temperate zones and in the cooler subtropics, provided the root zone stays cool: acidic soil, generous organic matter, sharp drainage and a permanent mulch layer, with moderate water kept up through summer while buds are forming. In a bed under established trees, dig compost in widely rather than deeply, since camellia roots are shallow and fibrous and resent being cut. Plant in autumn where winters are mild, or spring in cold districts, and keep new plants watered through their first two summers.

Camellia petal blight is the recurring problem. Flowers brown from the centre outwards and go soft well before they should, and the spores carry over in fallen blooms lying under the plant. Pick spent flowers up regularly, bin them instead of composting them in place, and refresh the surface mulch each year to bury any residue.

Japonica or sasanqua for a hedge

If a clipped hedge is the job, compare this with Camellia sasanqua Showa No Sakae. Sasanquas carry smaller leaves, tolerate far more sun and flower in autumn, which makes them the usual choice for a long formal hedge in an open position. A japonica like Ecclesfield is the pick where the site is properly shaded and the hedge is short, or where you want winter flowers at eye level. Within the japonicas, C.M. Hovey is the one to choose if a formal, uniformly crimson double is what you are after, and Man Size if the space is small enough that a standard japonica would swamp it. See the camellia collection for the full spread.

After the last flower falls

Prune immediately after flowering finishes, which for a hedge means shearing the face back and thinning the interior enough for light to reach inside. Leave it later and you are cutting off the wood that will carry next winter's buds, which is why a summer tidy usually means a poor season. Feed at the same time with an acid forming camellia and azalea food, water it in and mulch. A second light feed in early summer is enough. Never let the plant dry out between late summer and autumn, since that is when bud drop is decided.

Choosing a size

This plant is supplied in one size, 200mm, at $38.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to camellia hedges and winter flowers.