Camellias with their beautiful flowers in white, pink or red are preferably grown in pots or buckets. There are no truly winter-hardy Camellia japonica. They are therefore only suitable for outdoor use if you can offer them a very sheltered place in the garden.
Is the camellia (Camellia japonica) hardy?
Section: Camellias are not considered completely hardy because they cannot tolerate temperatures below -5 degrees. However, they require cool temperatures (6-10 degrees) and sufficient light in winter to bloom properly. Ideally, overwinter camellias in a cool, bright room, such as a winter garden.
Camellia like it cool but not real frost
Camellia japonica is often sold as hardy. Don't let this fool you. Camellias tolerate and even need cool temperatures. But the pretty ornamental plants are not really hardy.
You can leave camellias in pots on the terrace in winter, even without frost protection, until the temperatures drop to a maximum of -5 degrees. But then it's high time to bring them into the house.
As soon as the temperatures rise a little and it is frost-free again, the camellia can move back to the terrace.
The ideal place for the camellia to overwinter
- cool
- frost-free
- bright
The Camellia japonica has no place on the windowsill in the living room, even in winter. It's just too warm there.
It survives the winter best in a barely heated, bright room such as a cool winter garden.
Camellias need light
A big problem when overwintering Camellia japonica is the lack of light. The plant needs sufficient brightness even in winter.
If you can't offer it a suitable place, place the plant in the basement or at the hallway window and provide enough brightness with special plant lamps (€79.00 on Amazon). 16 hours of light is optimal for camellias.
No flowers without cold
The fact that camellias have a reputation for being hardy may be due to the fact that they do require cold - just not frost.
The flowers only open when the ambient temperature is cool enough at 6 to 10 degrees. They will delight the gardener for up to five weeks.
As soon as the temperatures rise higher, the camellia's flowering period is over very quickly.
Tips & Tricks
Camellias grown outdoors can survive very mild winters. However, they develop far fewer flowers than if you overwinter them in a pot in a cool but frost-free place.
