Hot Plant: Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’

'Yuletide' camellia

      The magical blooms of the sasanquas are the beginning of the camellia blooming season. There thousands of sasanquas and tens of thousands of other camellias, which makes it difficult for a particular variety to stand out in the crowd, but ‘Yuletide’ is one of those amazing stand out camellias.

     This spectacular landscape camellia has a long blooming season beginning in October and lasting into December. It is often in full bloom with red flowers and bright yellow stamens during the Christmas season, hence the name of ‘Yuletide.’  Right now mine is in peak bloom.

      At a time when camellias have been overlooked in the landscape, ‘Yuletide’ has become a mainstay in the garden centers where camellias are sold. It can be used as a dense evergreen hedge or stand alone as a specimen plant.

      Like all camellias, ‘Yuletide’ grows best in an acidic, well-drained soil in partial shade to full sun. Do not plant in deep shade because flowering will be greatly reduced.