Camellia ‘Sparkling Burgundy’

An all-time favorite, award-winning Camellia ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ is incredibly beautiful with its showy, peony-shaped flowers in shades of ruby red with a lavender undertone and gold stamens scattered among the petals. Medium-sized, the blooms, up to 3-4 in. wide (7-10 cm), are borne in great profusion over a fairly long period in the early season (October – January in the Northern Hemisphere; March – June in the Southern Hemisphere). The flowers are so abundant that ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ in full bloom becomes one of the glories of the garden. Vigorous, the evergreen foliage of glossy, elliptical, dark green leaves makes this camellia a perfect candidate for espalier, flowering hedge or screen, border shrub, or container planting.

• Compact, this medium-sized evergreen shrub has a dense, semi-weeping, upright form and grows up to 6-10 ft. tall (180-300 cm) and 4-8 ft. wide (120-240 cm)
• Winner of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
• A part shade to full shade lover, this plant is best grown in consistently moist, acidic, organically rich, well-drained soils. Will thrive in full sun once established provided that the roots are kept cool and moist. Provide a site sheltered from cold, dry winds as buds and flowers may be damaged by cold winds.
• May be attacked by aphids, scale insects, and vine weevil
• Mass in mixed shrub borders for dramatic winter blooms. Great flowering shrub for woodland gardens or as a screen and hedge. Perfect as a specimen plant and may be effectively grown in tubs or large containers.
• Apply a root mulch (leaves or shredded bark)
• Prune after flowering. Prune to thin branching and control size and shape.

Camellia sasanqua is one of the loveliest fall flowers, graceful in form, tender in color, and pleasing in fragrance. As summer fades and the leaves begin to turn, this camellia opens with aplomb during the camellia season. The flowers, mostly single or semi-double, are not quite as large and showy as those of Camellia japonica, but they are born in such profusion that a camellia sasanqua in full bloom becomes one of the glories of the fall garden. Never bigger than 3-4 in. (7-10 cm), the scented blooms enjoy fluted, ruffled petals and range from white through to deep pink. Each flower only lasts a couple of days before it drops its petals which makes them ill-suited for cutting. The elegant and open habit of Camellia sasanqua allows them to blend beautifully with other shrubs, without dominating the way the larger leaved, denser growing camellia japonica do. Faster growing than Camellia japonica, this broadleaved, evergreen shrub may grow from 18 in. (45 cm) up to 12 feet (360 cm). Camellia sasanqua shrubs are more sun tolerant than Camellia japonica and are slightly more cold-hardy (USDA Hardiness Zone 7 – 9).