Anne-Marie introduced our speaker, Barry Johnson who had visited our club before to speak to us about roses, being a former President of the Victorian Rose Society, involved with Camellia Society the a former policeman and landscaper, now retired.Barry is involved with rose gardens at Mornington and Morwell which are established and tended by volunteers.Barry explained that growing camellias works well with the roses as they need attention in opposite seasons.There is a wide variety of camellias available and they have proved to be drought tolerant due to their slow metabolism.The buds form at Christmas time and then bloom around July!Very few reticulates are available commercially as they need to be grafted but being a member of the Camellia Society enables him to gain access to rarer varieties and they have grafting days to propagate them.They are hosting a national contest and state camellia championships along with a floral art display in August, with plants available for sale. All details are available on their website: www.camelliasvic.org.auAs cut flowers, they can be displayed floating along with leaves or moss in fishbowls or other suitable receptacles. Camellias originated in Indo China, China and Japan – there are no varieties native to Australia.Some are perfumed; reticulata varieties go back for many years and are shown on ancient pottery. The first ones came to Australia with McArthur in the 1830s and feature in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.Camellia sinensis are used to make tea – the tips are picked keeping the bushes small. Camellias can ‘sport’ – throw up flowers of a different, unexpected colour. Some will revert back but if they are stable, they can be bred on forming new varieties. New varieties can also be hybrids - Australia has bred some excellent cultivars which have won prizes internationally.Japonica camellias have stood the test of time and are still very worthwhile to grow; these are the variety most suited to pots.Sasanqua camellias are the first to bloom, coming into flower in April/May and have quite a strong, heady perfume. These come from Japan and have many flowers on the bush but they don’t last very long. There is a wide range of colours including white, yellow, cream, pinks, purples, mauves and reds.Foliage comes in various colours and textures and has different growth habits, some forming very graceful shapes.Camellia oil can be used for cooking and is one of the healthiest oils available. They need to be fed, watered, pruned and mulched for best results. Barry showed us slides of his beautiful camellias, displaying the wide variety of colours and forms.Variegated forms are very popular with Americans. We cannot import plants from New Zealand or America due to diseases such as petal blight. Australian-bred camellias are being sent all over the world. Some are formal and can be shaped into a hedge; some can even be grown in hanging baskets looking very attractive. Only prune them when they have finished flowering; this is their dormant period and the only time they should be pruned.They are not greatly troubled by pests or diseases; sometimes aphids will attack the buds and damage the foliage – best to blast them off with the hose. Also, wattle birds love them for the nectar, and possums, especially brushtails, can cause lots of damage.Petal Blight will turn the petals brown and discoloured and Sudden Oak Death Syndrome will kill the plants completely but fortunately, we don’t have these in Australia. Frost will burn the flowers and hail will also damage them. Some canopy cover from other trees will protect them from exposure.Pruning them will encourage more flowering, with bigger and better flowers the following year. If doing a ‘rejuvenation’ prune, water them well for a few weeks afterwards to encourage regrowth. Lawn food, gypsum and dolomite are very good for them, use once a year after flowering. Use all-purpose fertilisers when buds form, around Christmas time and spent tea leaves at any time.
