Camellias Varieties for North Georgia

Buying "cold tolerant" Camellias will assure North Georgians of beautiful, showy Camellia blooms.

Gardeners visiting the southern part of the state often drool over the beautiful Camellia blossoms. By careful selection, it is possible to grow Camellias that will reliably produce flowers year after year. Without careful selection you may wind up with varieties that never have fully developed flowers.

Cold tolerance…

There is little difference in cold tolerance of open Camellia flowers. However, there are wide differences in cold tolerance of the flower buds themselves. The first fact to remember in selecting varieties is that very few of the extremely large flowering varieties have little, if any, cold tolerance.

Look for these varieties…

The double flowering or rose form varieties such as "Debutante", "Pink Perfection", or "Rosea Superba" have some cold tolerance at the bud stage. Some better varieties may be selected that will come nearer to successfully flowering each year.

In the reds are: "Flame", "Dr. W. G. Lee", "Ville de Nantes", "Gov. Mouton" . In the pinks look at "Magnoliae flora", "Bernice Boddy", "Dr. Tinsley", "Lady Clare", "Christine Lee". If you prefer a white, look for the variety "Leucantha". There are some variegated varieties for gardeners who prefer this coloration.

An important key to remember is to select those varieties that fall into the late flowering season. Select wisely and you can have these beautiful flowers during late winter or early spring.

For more information on the varieties of North Georgia Camellias, contact your local County Extension Office.