How to Plant and Care For C A M E LL A S 
The Camellia is a shade loving plant, so the north- 
east or east side of the house or garden is the most 
suitable planting site; however, protection from the 
hot summer sun is of prime importance, regardless 
of what location you select. Shade is ideally provided 
by a lath house, naturally provided by trees, and may 
be temporarily provided by the erection of a lath or 
cloth shelter for protection during the summer months. 
Camellias need a well drained soil and a cool, moist 
condition for the roots. The accompanying sketch 
shows the best method of preparing a planting hole. 
Rather than to make a large flat bottomed hole, first 
dig a hole to accommodate the root ball as it is re- 
moved from the container, allow about one inch of 
the top of the root ball to protrude above the level of 
the surrounding soil. This is to insure that the camel- 
lia can not settle to a greater depth at some later 
time. Take care not to dig or loosen the soil where 
the bottom of the root ball is to rest. When the proper 
depth has been ascertained, the plant may be carefully 
lifted out of this trial hole. The hole may then be 
widened and deepened, leaving a flat tcpped pyramid 
at the center of the hole. If your natural soil is well 
drained you may then complete the planting as per 
the sketch. If the soil is a heavy clay with the usual 
poor drainage, it will be well to use a soil augur or 
post hole digger, digging a slanting hole to a layer 
of gravel thus providing an escape for any excess of 
water. This latter hole should be back filled with 
coarse gravel or broken pottery. 
An ideal mixture for back fill soil is composed of 
equal parts of moistened peat moss, oak leaf mould, 
coarse sand (unless your native soil is quite sandy) 
and the best soil you can rob from some part of 
the garden that has previously been enriched. Firm 
the back-fill carefully so that no air pockets will re- 
main, water slowly and thoroughly. The root ball of 
the plant should be moist at the time of planting, 
and if the root system appears to be crowded, the 
outer roots may be gently loosened, using the fingers 
or a stick. 
It is important that a mulch or layer of peat moss 
be maintained around the base of the plant, and an 
easy way to prevent the washing or blowing away of 
this mulch is to build a little barrier or fence about 
two inches high all around the plant. For the average 
camellia a regular nursery flat with the bottom knock- 
ed out will work very nicely as a retainer. 
An acid fertilizer should be used for best results. 
The plants are fed during their growing season, or 
during the months March through August. One of 
the finest fertilizers for safe and beneficial feeding is 
the Red Star “CAMELLIA-GRO” obtainable at most 
nursery, garden supply and feed stores. This food 
is an exact replica of a formula long used by one 
of the largest exclusive wholesale growers of Camel- 
lias and Azaleas in the State of California. All nitro- 
gen in this balanced product is derived from organic 
sources, no inert fillers have been added, so that con- 
tinued usage of “CAMELLIA-GRO” will not only 
wonderfully improve the vigor and appearance of the 
Camellia foliage and blooms, it will replenish the im- 
portant soil bacteria and aid in aereation of the soil. 
“CAMELLIA-GRO” should be applied in March 
just as the plants are passing the height of bloom, 
again in June just as the first cycle of growth has 
started to harden and once again in August as the 
second cycle of growth is maturing. 
For Camellias 24-36 inches— 1 cup 
12-18 inches—l4, cup 3-4 feet— 2 cups 
18-24 inches—l4 cup 6-8 feet— 4 cups 
For container grown plants, for newly grafted plants, 
and for recently transplanted Camellias, use one-half 
the above amounts. The food should be applied 
evently, not too close to the main stem or trunk of 
the plant, and worked lightly, with the fingers, into 
the mulch. Water carefully but thoroughly, so that 
the food is not washed away. 
Camellias have no special pests so ordinary con- 
trol measures may be used to combat the few that 
may be troublesome. Ant control is important to 
lessen the trouble caused by aphis or scale. There 
are several good sprays on the market for control of 
these pests, choose one that may be blended with an 
oil base to insure good coverage and even wetting. 
During the spring and summer, as new tender foliage 
appears, preventative measures should be taken to 
avoid damage caused by leaf eating caterpillars. We 
have found that 2 tablespoons of Cryolite and 2 
tablespoons of Nursery Volck added to one gallon of 
water and sprayed on the new foliage will prevent 
damage by these leaf-eaters. 
MOSS MULCH 
Sea 
RETAINER & KEEP 
Pen Ki MAINTAIN A MULC EXISTING LEVEL 
IN o$ PEAT mass- te GARDEN 
(@2 INCHES 
Yo ExTRA 
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SURROUNDING SoiL LEVEL. oO. AN, 
Thea WILL PREVENT du CAMELLIA \Y 
EVER SINKING TOO DEEPLY. y 
