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Camellia japonica 'Lady Vansittart'

camellia 'Lady Vansittart'

An upright, evergreen shrub with elliptic, dark green leaves and, from late winter to mid-spring, semi-double, white flowers, variably striped with pink or red.

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Size
Ultimate height
8–12 metres
Time to ultimate height
10–20 years
Ultimate spread
4–8 metres
Growing conditions
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Pink Red White Green
Summer Green
Autumn Green
Winter Pink Red White Green
Position
  • Partial shade
Aspect

West–facing or North–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H5
Botanical details
Family
Theaceae
Native to GB / Ireland
No
Foliage
Evergreen
Habit
Bushy
Genus

Camellia are evergreen shrubs with simple, ovate, glossy, leathery leaves and showy flowers with solitary or clustered flowers early in the year

Name status

Accepted

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in moist but well-drained, neutral to acid soil in partial to full shade. Plant in a sheltered site as cold, drying winds and morning sun can damage buds and flowers. Feed in mid-spring and early summer with a sequestered iron fertiliser. Maintain a deep mulch of leaf mould or shredded bark at the base of the plant.

Propagation

Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Low Maintenance
  • Wall side borders
  • Flower borders and beds
Pruning

Group 8. Best left unpruned except for removal of unsightly shoots and deadheading, unless some shaping is required, and if so, as it is early flowering, carry out carry out thereafter.

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, scale insects and vine weevil

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely), phytophthora root rot, camellia gall, camellia leaf blight, camellia yellow mottle virus and flowers and camellia petal blight

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