CAMELLIAS 
Camellias will grow and prosper under widely 
varying conditions as to soil and temperature, 
but it is absolutely essential that they have good 
drainage. It is useless to plant a camellia at 
any place where the water will stand after a 
hard rain. They will grow in almost dense 
shade and in the full sun. Camellias will stand 
a good deal of severe weather, if the cold comes 
gradually and the plants have an opportunity 
to harden up before the first severe freeze. How- 
ever, an early severe freeze, while the growth is 
still tender, will probably cause damage to the 
buds. 
Camellias, like azaleas, prefer an acid soil, but 
will stand a broader variation of soil, and will 
grow well even if the soil is just slightly acid. 
Camellias are subject to several forms of scale 
which can be easily controlled by spraying. 
A spray of one gallon of water, three table- 
spoons of Volck, or other white oil emulsion, 
and one teaspoon of Black Leaf 40, will be ef- 
fective. Care should be used not to spray in 
the hot sun. If the plant is not shaded, it 
should be sprayed late in the afternoon, if pos- 
sible. Otherwise the leaves are likely to be 
badly burned, which will retard the growth of 
the plant. Generally it is sufficient to spray in 
the spring and again in the fall, but if a plant is 
badly infested with disease we recommend spray- 
ing every three weeks until the scale is killed. 
Sometimes camellias are affected by the 
disease commonly known as “‘die-back.” This 
is due to a fungus. We have had satisfactory 
results in controlling this disease by spraying 
with Bordeaux mixture three times in the Spring, 
at ten-day intervals, when the first new growth 
starts. It is very important that the spraying 
be done at the time the new growth starts, and 
the plant should be sprayed thoroughly so as to 
wet all the branches and the trunk. 
A thin mulch of oak leaves or pine straw is 
good for camellias. Almost any fertilizer that 
does not have an alkaline reaction can be used. 
We have had good results with cotton seed meal 
and Vigoro. 
In planting camellias it is absolutely necessary 
to avoid planting them too deep. The import- 
ance of this cannot be stressed too much. If 
the stem is one inch deeper than it was formerly 
grown, the growth of the plant will be greatly 
retarded, and if it is planted several inches 
tly fe 
