Camellia x 'Winter's Joy' - Winter's Joy Camellia

A compact, upright grower with glossy, evergreen leaves that look striking against masses of large, semi-double, ruffled pink flowers; provide rich, acidic, moist, well-drained soil

Height: 6 feet. Spread: 4 feet. Sun: partial shade to full shade. Hardiness zone: 7a.

Ornamental features

Winter's Joy Camellia features showy semi-double pink round flowers with yellow eyes at the ends of the branches from mid fall to early winter. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The glossy pointy leaves remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape

Winter's Joy Camellia is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Recommended for: Accent, Mass Planting, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use, Container Planting.

Planting and growing

Winter's Joy Camellia will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in partial shade to shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder.