The First Care Of 
CAMELLIA JAPONICAS 
Plant them in a good rich, well-drained soil. 
If your soil is not rich, then it should be prepared 
after planting if more convenient, by adding a lib- 
eral supply of muck—that is, a black deposit found 
in bottoms where ponds have been drained off, also 
found in deposits over the country. If this is not 
available, the top soil from under oak trees, or any 
good well-rotted leaf mold. Use liberal amount of 
dairy or barnyard fertilizer, mixed with this soil. 
Plant the Camellia shallow so that the crown roots 
are near the surface, do not mound to get drainage, 
this covers the root system too deep and retards the 
growth of the plant, sometimes killing the plant. 
Do not Jeave hole around plant for watering as you 
may forget to fill this in, and if water should stand 
it is bad on the root system. It is better to wet the 
ground evenly with a slow spray over a long period. 
The foliage and bark wet this way in dry weather is 
very beneficial to the plant. Do not remove burlap 
from around ball, plant as it is. Keep well- 
mulched during summer months, cane pummings 
is best, leaves, old hay, or any good mulch, but it 
is best to use a ground cover to conserve moisture 
and keep the ground from hardening under plant. 
It is best not to cultivate Camellias as the root 
system is near the surface. 
I believe to remove the mulch during winter 
months is best. 
Start spraying with Volck in the early spring 
to check scale pests. Spray with Bordeaux to check 
Formoposis blight. The two sprays can be mixed 
by following directions on Volek package. I find 
it best not to wait to find wilt or limbs dying to 
spray. 
For aphids use Black Leaf Forty, adding a little 
soap to solution. It is best not to use oil sprays 
during winter months. 
It is best to plant in partial shade or to cover 
with lath or Spanish Moss for the first two summers 
when planted in the open. You can take this off 
after the first heavy frost about the first of De- 
cember. Watch to keep the foliage from blistering. 
if taken off too early. 
The best plant food each spring, use liberal 
amount of mixture of cottonseed meal and acid 
phosphate, hundred pounds of cottonseed meal to 
fifty pounds of acid phsphate, well mixed. I also 
use Vigoro—this is best applied in several applica- 
tions not later than the middle of July. 
We find that the root system is the most im- 
portant part of the plant. A good root system will 
throw off more troubles and give better results 
than any other system yet worked out. Conditioned 
plants are plants that have well-developed root 
systems. They are plants that have been root pruned 
several times, according to the age of the plant. We 
root prune young plants every year. As they grow 
older we move them every other year. By the time 
they are sold they have developed a root system 
that will give results, when planted. 
