Please don't put a brick through my window!

“So I was using a neonicotinoid...”

In a short time I doubt I'll be saying that again! At some point in the not-too-distant future the insecticide group known as the neonicotinoid group will be banned from use in Europe. This insecticidal group of chemicals makes up about 25% of the European pesticide market, so there is a battle being waged between the producers of this chemical group (who predictably claim that the environmental effects of their products are minimal) and anyone who understands the importance of beneficial insects, including (most famously) bees. As the neonicotinoid group is a broad spectrum insecticide it will kill any insect. Although the doses and application rates are aimed at damaging populations of small insects, it also has a knock-on effect on larger insects that collect pollen and nectar from the flowers of treated plants, including causing infertility and abnormalities in bees, and subsequently population decline.

I'm not going to enter into the issues around the neonicotinoid group here. I would like to draw your attention to a product...

This is Intercept. It is a neonicotinoid that is available solely to professionals who have a pesticide handling certificate (usually a PA1/PA6). It is manufactured by Scotts, who also make slow-release fertilisers, “Miracle Grow”, and various insecticides and herbicides.

Now before you lobby to have all Scotts products removed from sale because they [currently] make neonicotinoids, I would like to draw your attention to the label. 

 

On the side of the label it makes it absolutely clear that this product must not be used on any edible crops, or even compost that might be reused to grow crops for human or animal consumption. Fair enough, it's poisonous and has a residual effect. Let's look at the bottom of the label....

“HIGH RISK TO BEES. Do not apply to crops in flower or to those in which bees are actively foraging. Do not apply when flowering weeds are present.”

This particular bottle of Intercept was bought in 2008 and has a clear warning that there is potential to harm bees.

How does one company know that their product is dangerous to bees warn users 

while another (Bayer) continues to maintain that neonicotinoids are not harmful?

Neonicotinoids will be banned from use. Horticulture is better placed to cope with this than agriculture; neonicotinoids have almost already been replaced by a bacterial product to combat vine weevils in compost ('Met52') (as well as using nematodes if needed later in the growing season), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), better horticultural practices, and (if necessary) the remaining chemical products available to professional growers.

At work we seldom spray any stock in the tunnels or outdoors- birds and insects do most of the work for us- and maybe the occasional isolated batch might need a chemical treatment if a pest population is getting out of hand. We never routinely 'blanket spray' plants, even though we grow an enormous range and are always short on manpower- nature takes it's course and we intervene only if absolutely necessary. Most hardy stock nurseries run along similar lines.

So before I get a brick thrown through my window... why was a using a neonicotinoid product when I know about the dangers to bees? I had a very serious root aphid infestation on the root-balls of some large Pinus roxburghii. Ordinarily plants with such bad infestations of root pests would be disposed of, but throwing away rare pines that are already more than a decade old is not an option. Am I happy with my decision? Yes. Pines are pollinated by the wind, not bees, and there is no chance of beneficial insects being harmed by the use of this product on the pine- I assessed the risks and used the product legally. Once there is an effective drench for root aphid on non-flowering plants then the little bottle of Intercept at the back of the pesticide locker will become a thing of the past. More likely we will run out of Intercept granules and then it will be banned, but at least the Pinus roxburghii are safe.

King of Spring; the Magnolia

When it comes to splendour of spring the Magnolia is king. Large gardens in the South West boast dozens of these magnificent trees, some early collections of Magnolia species are now around 100ft tall and in March and April their blooms stand out for miles around!

Magnolia stellata

The history of the Magnolia in cultivation is almost the same as that of the other stalwarts of the 'big house' garden, the Rhododendrons and the Camellias. In the early days (19^th century) if you wanted a Magnolia you would have to sponsor a plant hunter, and these brave men would travel through the wilderness of the Far East in search of Magnolia seed. Then came the wait; Magnolias take an eternity to flower from seed, often somewhere between 20 and 50 years depending on species- growing Magnolias from seed really was an investment in the future of a garden! It is not unlikely that many of the men of wealth who sent the plant hunters out to far flung corners of Asia in search of seed never saw any flowers in return for their investment.

As time has passed Magnolia growing has moved on, and now you can buy some Magnolias in your local garden centre, although visiting a specialist for something special is very much worthwhile. Selection of clones, new propagation methods and good plant breeding have made Magnolias far more accessible to the general market, although Magnolias are still not cheap- they are not easy to graft and take a lot of time to make a plant good enough for sale, so it's unlikely that you will get a good Magnolia for less than £20, and even then it will be fairly small. Price isn't all that much of an issue really; most gardens will only have room for one or two of these trees, so it's a matter of finding the right tree for your budget.

In a previous blog post I mentioned the time-scales involved in breeding Camellias and how that affects their price and makes raising new varieties unattractive to nurseries. Magnolias have the same problem, but much worse! By the time a breeder's Magnolia hybrids are flowering in a stock field 20+ years may have passed since the cross was made and the seeds were sown. Once a new variety is selected from these seedlings (and indeed if a seedling is good enough to select) material must be taken and grafted onto rootstocks to create more propagation material. This process must be repeated for many years; each grafted plant will have to be grown for several years until it is big enough to yield more material for grafting. In order to yield enough material to make enough plants for release onto the market these plants must be grown on and on... Magnolia breeding needs time, space and patience!

Gardeners benefit well from this mammoth breeding task- modern hybrids are often superb, with excellent colour, form and flowering. Some varieties are well known, like Magnolia 'Susan' with it's deep purple flowers, and M. 'Star Wars' with it's open flowers and slightly pointed petals. 

Magnolia 'Susan' in bud

Magnolia 'Star Wars'

 Some flowers are just sublime, like this M. 'Iolanthe' which has a superb scent and enormous mouthwatering flowers.

Magnolia 'Iolanthe'

Some selections are superb for creating 'flower power', such as M. x loebneri 'Merrill', a very good alternative for Magnolia stellata (top).

Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill'

For sheer beauty M. x soulangiana 'Picture' is awesome, as are some of the yellow Magnolia hybrids, like M. 'Elizabeth'.

M. 'Picture'

M. 'Elizabeth'

If you are making an investment in a Magnolia you must be sure that you can accommodate it. Soil requirements are simple but important; a continually moist but free-draining (NEVER waterlogged) slightly acidic soil is vital. Magnolias will take plenty of sun anywhere with reliably moist soil (this is why they do so well in the west of the UK!), but will tolerate some light shade without any ill effects. Because their flowers and leaves are fairly large Magnolias are best in a spot sheltered from the wind. Also, as they are early flowering plants frost can be an issue- try to site your plant in a spot sheltered from frosts, but also choose the right variety- blooms of a white Magnolia will be visibly damaged by even a light frost, so if in doubt go for a variety with darker flowers so that only damage from hard frosts will be noticeable.

The next important requirement is space, and this is why you must choose your Magnolia carefully and if possible have a good in-depth conversation with a specialist Magnolia grower; some Magnolias have an upright habit (such as M. 'Star Wars') but others are more spreading (such as M. stellata). Make no mistake- you are buying a tree, so it's important to make sure that you have space to fit a Magnolia as well as a Magnolia suitable for the space. On the whole the yellow flowered Magnolias seem determined to make a tree with a straight leader- pruning is very much inadvisable. Your budget will also play a part in your decision... some Magnolias are easier to propagate and grow, so will be available as small plants fairly cheaply (M. stellata is a good example, and M. x loebneri 'Merrill' can be fairly inexpensive) and will flower well as young plants, but some plants are difficult to grow and are naturally more tree-like in habit, so will only be available as larger plants with a larger price tag. It is important to get the right variety- if your heart is set on a large flowered tree then you must save up!

Patience is a tool: growing Camellias commercially

Camellia 'Mark Alan'- great plant, but not common

No evergreen shrubs can even try to match the Camellias for flower. After the dreary grey winter Camellias erupt in a spectacular display of colours ranging from crisp whites through every shade of pink and to deep reds, with flowers from single forms through to intricate doubles, and from tiny to saucer sized. The plants themselves range in size from small varieties that seldom grow to more than 1m (3ft) to enormous shrubs that make great screens or informal hedges.

The two main groups found in gardens are the C. japonica and C. x williamsii varieties. Camellia japonica is found in China, South Korea and Japan, and has given gardeners an extraordinarily diverse range of blooms. Camellia x williamsii is a hybrid between wild Camellia japonica and C. saluensis. The C. x williamsii hybrids are often preferred by gardeners because they are more floriferous and generally of a more upright habit, as well as tending to shed their spent blooms more readily.

It is easy to fall for this captivating genus, and many people do. The best place to see lots of Camellias is Devon and Cornwall, and blooms are shown at local shows during the flowering season in the same way that Dahlias and Chrysanthemums are shown later in the year. The frustration for people wanting to collect Camellias is their relative scarcity in nurseries and garden centres. Visit a garden centre in spring and you will almost certainly find Camellias, but usually the same few varieties again and again...

Camellias are not easy to raise and as such are not favoured in the fast turnaround, low input world of the wholesale nurseries. To illustrate this I would like to take you through the propagation of Camellia varieties.

Camellia cuttings being weaned... slowly!

 In late summer semi-ripe cuttings are taken. These are put onto a mist propagator with bottom heat, and will often stay here for six months until they have enough root to be weaned off the propagating bench. Usually after a period of one to three months the cuttings can then be potted into 9cm pots and further hardened off. So far we're seven to nine months in...

Once the plants have started into growth they will be pinched back to make them bushy. They will continue to grow and develop as they root into their 9cm pot. More vigorous varieties will be ready to pot about 12-14 months after the cuttings were taken, less vigorous varieties (usually the more sought after) can be ready to pot 18 months or more after the cutting was taken.

These Camellias are the same age, but of differing vigour.

A slightly older batch, almost ready for potting.

Some can't wait to get flowering, like these young plants of C. 'Fiona Colville'!

Years on, here's a 2L C. 'Glenn's Orbit' ready for sale

When it comes to potting the 9cm plants there are two main options: pot your 9cm plant into a 2L pot, or go from a 9cm pot into a 1L pot, and then pot that 1L pot into a 3L pot. Either way you are looking at a further investment in time. If you pot a 9cm pot into a 2L pot in spring of one year you will have plants ready for spring of the following year, whereas going from a 9cm to a 1L pot and then to a 3L pot will take a little longer. All in all you are looking at a turnaround of anywhere from two to four years to have a plant ready for sale, possibly longer if you want a bigger and bushier plant for sale. Camellias will need their tips pinched to encourage them to become bushy, careful watering and feeding and lots of TLC to make good plants. Compare them with, say a Hydrangea: take your cuttings in summer of year one, pot for sale in the spring of year two, sell in the summer of year two!

Camellias are expensive to produce, and sadly this makes Camellias undesirable to most nurseries; they are slow, need lots of attention, and can suffer if their roots get frosted in winter, all when better returns can be made from easier crops. Some varieties are slightly more reliable to grow and they make good eye-catching garden centre plants, and these will always be the easiest to get hold of. Sorry to say that the really spectacular Camellias will remain the preserve of the specialist nursery, and will never be cheap plants to get hold of. 

But if you want to think of really long term projects try breeding Camellias! From making the cross between two plants you can have flowering sized seedlings in 2-3 years... then once you have selected a plant that you want to name and release (possibly after a few seasons of trialling the variety) you must build up enough cutting material to make enough young plants (looking at around 10-15 more years). Varieties raised from sports take a little less time, although the variety must be trialled for long enough to make sure the sport is stable and doesn't revert to the original plant; either way you are looking at an extraordinary amount of time before you get to see the fruits of your labours! We will forever be indebted to the patient Camellia breeder.

Happy Birthday to a great man of horticulture

Tonight there is a party in Cornwall, a party for a great guy!

Many of us have come across the horticultural charity Perennial and are aware of the great work that they do (if you don't know, please click here); a lot of their work is funded through special events. Anyone who has been to an event in Cornwall raising money for Perennial will almost have certainly met George Kestell....

George's work for Perennial is fantastic- he will happily tell anyone about the work of this valuable charity and raise it's profile among horticulturists and the public alike, and he works tirelessly to raise as much money as possible.

George is very well known on the Cornish horticultural scene, and is popular on the local BBC radio gardening programme. He also lectures at Duchy College in Cornwall, as well as giving lively talks to garden clubs; his enthusiasm for his subject is infectious, and hopefully some of that enthusiasm will rub off onto others.

It's George's birthday (but I'd better not say which one), and I would like to take this opportunity to wish this great man many happy returns!

(left: George evangelising about Perennial's excellent work)

Winter interest: RHS Rosemoor

Keeping a garden looking at it's best all year round can be quite a challenge, but with careful planting it is possible to keep interest in the garden for 356 days of the year. Choosing what to grow and where to plant it can be daunting, so for inspiration I visited the RHS Garden at Rosemoor, Devon, in the first few days of 2013.

Rosemoor's Winter Garden

Rosemoor's Winter Garden is a fine example of what can be done to keep interest all year round. Careful planting means that this area is far from dull at any time, but in the cold and dark days of winter this area really comes into it's own. Every plant here contributes colour and/or shape to the scene, while careful planting gives the area a sense of being open and light- very important when the winter light isn't very strong. Evergreens provide structure and bulk, while the coloured stems of dogwoods (Cornus cvs.) and willows splash colour, and the branches of deciduous trees add an ethereal touch. Some of the trees, white stemmed Betula jacquemontii and the russet 'Paperbark Maple' Acer griseum, also provide interest thanks to their colourful bark. These are trees to be cherished in a garden- beautiful in summer, awesome in winter.

The border near Rosemoor's visitor centre is packed with evergreens to provide winter interest

Plants of different heights provide added interest; in the picture below we can see how the bulky mound of Viburnum davidii (bottom right corner) works well with the mass of low (and here sadly chlorotic-looking) Pachysandra, which in turn enhances the scale of the Camellia behind. Even though all three (usually) have dark green leaves, the different heights of the plants create an interesting grouping. Note also how the planting on the left is made up of good blocks of planting, helping to create more impact- you can get away with one plant tucked in amongst others during the riot of summer colour, but structure and mass are vital for winter impact. 

Winter colour

Although winter is mainly the domain of the shrubs, a few well chosen herbaceous plants add to the winter interest. Sadly neglected for too long, Bergenias ('Elephant's Ears) are making a welcome return to popularity. These bold herbaceous plants are known for their big thick and waxy leaves, green in summer and then usually turning deep red for winter. These leaves hold up well during bad weather, only really being affected by the very worst weather that nature can throw at them. At Rosemoor there is a very good planting that uses a mass of Bergenia 'Bressingham Ruby' (which this year looks slightly sorry for itself after the appallingly wet 'summer' of 2012) and a carpet of yellow-variegated Acorus 'Ogon'. The genus Acorus is rather interesting; previously classed as a member of the Arum family, it is now believed that these are the survivors of an ancient race of grasses!

Bergenia 'Bressingham Ruby' and Acorus 'Ogon'

Winter interest isn't limited to a carefully chosen palette of special plants, it can also come from the remains of summer and autumn. Unless destroyed by vicious storms, the stems of perennials and grasses can proved structure and subtle colour in the garden during winter. In the Square Garden (below) the RHS gardeners have left the stems of Miscanthus, Eupatorium and dozens of other herbaceous plants standing- these stems seem to glow in the winter sun and, providing they are cleared away in time for the new shoots to grow in spring, they create interest in an area of the garden that would otherwise be bare at this time of year.

The Square Garden in winter

Of course bare ground isn't a bad thing; in the same way that a large lawn gives you space to appreciate the impact of large borders, so bare space around certain trees and shrubs helps them to stand out. Keeping the trunk of the beautiful Betula costata below clear allows the trunk to be appreciated, while a low carpet of an ivy enhances and compliments the interesting leaves of Ilex aquifolium 'Lichtenthalii'. The newfound space left by dormant perennials (those that have disappeared naturally or are deemed to be not structural enough to stay for winter) is often itself a real asset in the winter garden.

Betula costata

Ilex aquifolium 'Lichtenthalii'

The Heroes of Winter

Whether or not you're into the hundreds of Snowdrops loved by so-called Galanthophiles (I occasionally dabble in this world, but would certainly not profess to expertise) I defy anyone to object to snowdrops. Those pure white (occasionally yellow, but again Galanthophilia) flowers are a real pleasure and joy during winter. Either grown with winter season shrubs (as with the red stemmed Cornus below) or carpeting space left bare by perennials or annuals, snowdrops are a delight. Tough and charming, and everyone should grow at least some! I'll dabble in the murky world of 'when to divide your snowdrops' in another post.

Galanthus atkinsii with Cornus alba 'Sanguinea'

Evergreen ferns add a lot of interest thanks to their structure and texture; being spoiled in the South West, I would recommend Blechnum chilense (below), but this can be tricky to grow in some areas. A tougher fern that is very much worth growing is Polystichum munitum, but certainly the chunky fronds of Blechnum chilense is my winter hero.

Blechnum chilense

An excellent choice for a wall is Garrya elliptica, and in particular the cultivar 'James Roof' which has especially long catkins. If you visit RHS Rosemoor in the winter the long catkins greet you by the main entrance, and certainly seem to generate interest among visitors. A superb shrub and pretty tough although it often has spots on the leaves, and these are caused by the imaginatively named 'Garry Leaf Spot' (there is no cure, but on a happy plant it is barely noticeable).

Garrya elliptica 'James Roof'

Scent is an important part of the winter garden, and queen among the scented shrubs is Daphne 'Jacqueline Postill'. Although a fairly large shrub, this bold evergreen bares small flowers with an exquisite scent in January- this crisp scent carries well in the garden. Providing you have the all-important soil type for a Daphne (slightly acidic, not too nutrient rich so don't feed it too much, and uniformly moist but not waterlogged) your plant will thrive. Received wisdom is that Daphnes do not like being moved, but I moved a 10ft+ Daphne 'Jacqueline Postill' last winter, in far from ideal conditions, and the plant has recovered from it's shock and is flowering it's heart out 12 months later!

Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill'

Mahonias are a very underused shrub. OK, they're big and most are prickly, but in winter the deliciously scented yellow flowers are sublime. Given that not every bee species hibernates the Mahonias provide solidly reliable sources of nectar for bees when it's warm enough for them to fly. Mahonia x media 'Charity' is well known and nice enough, but M. x media 'Buckland' (below) is a nicer cultivar, as is M. x media 'Winter Sun' (a paler lemon yellow flower).

Mahonia x media 'Buckland'

Mahonias share a trait with another fabulous winter flowering shrub, the Witch Hazels (Hamamelis) – in both cases the yellow flowered cultivars are known for their scent, while red flowered cultivars are all but scent free. Having said this I don't doubt that there is some serious breeding work going on somewhere to rectify this, and even now there may be new cultivars on the market that combine red flowers with excellent scent... if you know any please get in touch! While the scent of the yellow flowered Hamamelis is a real treat during winter, the rich spice red flowers of Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane' (below) are well worth compromising scent for.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane'

You can't garden for winter scent without using at least one superb winter flowering Viburnum, and arguably best of these is V. x bodnantense. There are two cultivars that I would recommend, the well known and ever popular V. x bodnantense 'Dawn', and the equally good although less well known V. x bodnantense 'Charles Lamont' (below). Either or both are fantastic shrubs and deserve to be grown in any garden. Oh, and the corrugated leaves are interesting in spring and summer, and then there is usually very good autumn colour from both too!

Viburnum x bodnantense 'Charles Lamont'

Another Viburnum worth growing is the evergreen Viburnum davidii. Making a handsome low mound of large leaves, this Viburnum is an important structural plant for the garden. Sadly the flowers are of no great consequence, and the shiny black fruits are only borne on female plants (and plants of known sex seem scarce for some reason!), but the bold foliage makes up for these shortcomings.

Viburnum davidii

This is by no means a comprehensive list of good plants for winter interest, instead these are some of the plants used to great effect at Rosemoor. I haven't included the willows and dogwoods grown for their stem colour- these could easily warrant a blog entry of their own!

The RHS Garden at Rosemoor is a real gem and is well worth visiting at any time of the year. Originally set around an old Devon farmhouse, the garden has grown and developed since the garden was given to the RHS in 1988. Now it boasts a series of gardens set around themes, as well as large borders and an arboretum. Let's not forget the Winter Garden! Visit the Rosemoor pages on the RHS website here.

A few words about my chopper (ladies need not avert their gaze)

In the same way that gardeners exchange notes about plants that perform well, there is also a friendly exchange of information about good tools. Gardeners love a good gadget or trick, whether it's a domestic size rotavator to help dig the vegetable bed, or something as simple as keeping your ball of string in a tin can (just punch a hole in the side for the string to stick out and it won't get tangled up).

A few years ago I bought a sinister looking thing from my local farm and smallholding store. Made by Morris of Dunsford (Devon), this goes by various names according to local modifications- it's best known as a slasher.

This is essentially a chunky grass hook on a pole and is effective in clearing scrub (brambles, nettles, thin saplings etc). It is light and easy to use, as well as turning heads when you're seen with it! Why would anyone in their right mind choose an old fashioned tool over a modern brush-cutter?

• Cost- a petrol brush-cutter will cost you £100+, but you can buy a brand new slasher for less than £50.
• Weight- a petrol brush-cutter is heavy and needs harnesses for safe and comfortable use, whereas this tool can be carried and used with only one hand.
• Other bits and bobs- a petrol brush-cutter needs fuel, oil and a mountain of safety kit to operate safely, but all the slasher needs is a sharpening stone (which is small and easily portable) and possibly an occasional squirt of WD-40 to protect the blade.

Safety
Any tool you use has an element of danger in it- just ask anyone who's hit their hand when using a hammer! Safe operation is key, but operating powered tools does carry more risk than hand tools; although your chances of having an accident aren't much greater there is a greater chance of having a serious accident with a powered tool. Hit a stone with a petrol brush-cutter and the stone will fire off and possibly hit something (or will damage the blades), but hit a stone with a slasher and you'll just hear a 'dink' of metal on stone.
 

To operate a petrol brush-cutter you must wear face protection, as well as ear defenders, heavy duty gloves, harnesses etc. You can use a slasher with none of these safeguards, and merrily wage war on heavy duty weeds while listening to the birds singing, holding a conversation... 

Do not wear gloves when using a slasher! You must have a good grip on the handle while you're slashing at weeds and gloves won't give you enough grip- instead use your bare hands, and when you buy your slasher your must first take a piece of coarse sandpaper and roughen the handle.

Efficiency
This is a tricky one to look at when comparing the two tools. On the one hand your slasher will need sharpening while you're using it (very good opportunity to take stock of progress etc), but then a petrol brush-cutter will need to cool down and be refuelled from time to time. In terms of actually making progress a brush-cutter will make faster progress on a patch where the stems aren't too tangled up, and on an area where you don't have to work around plants/obstacles or on uneven ground, but where the scrub is established and the conditions underfoot are less than ideal, the slasher has the advantage; you can reach in under the brambles to hack their stems near ground level and then wrap the stems around the slasher and pull them out, all the time keeping your hands away from the thorns thanks to the long pole. If you have a pitchfork with you then this will help even more- you can wrap more brambles around it, as well as rake up prickly debris.

Which is better?
Well probably the slasher, for the following reasons:

• Price (you'll need to cover a lot of ground before a petrol brush-cutter pays for itself)
• Easy of use- both in terms of weight and manoeuvrability, and portability
• Better for the environment- as well as not causing a noise nuisance, the slasher is a long lasting metal head on a wooden pole; if the pole breaks, fit another one. If a brush-cutter breaks down and can't be fixed economically it will have to be scrapped. Also the slasher does not need to burn fossil fuels to operate. 

In conclusion 
Buy this tool. For all but the biggest clearance jobs this tool will serve you well. It's enjoyable to use, and being able clear an area without the noise of an engine or being weighted down with safety kit is liberating. I'll be honest, it looks good too; either in the potting shed or out at work, you will admire this tool for it's rustic good looks and it's ability to get the job done with no fuss. Now, I'm off to find more brambles!

Forever autumn

"The summer sun is fading as the year grows old, and darker days are drawing near. The winter winds will be much colder, now you're not here...." Jeff Wayne, Forever Autumn (from The War of The Worlds), sung by Justin Hayward.

Autumn brings really mixed feelings- the days are definitely shorter and winter's 'dead' season is on it's way, but the autumn colours are so strong in that peculiar lazy light that we get at the end of the year. Autumn is known for it's golds, russets, ambers and reds, but don't think that this is the only group of colours to enjoy- make sure you add pinks, whites and reds to your garden in autumn too!

Camellias are well known for their bold and garish displays in spring, bringing shocking pinks, hot reds and crisp whites into the garden after the greys and browns of winter, but the autumn flowering species and varieties are still all to often overlooked.

The best known of the autumn Camellias are the varieties of Camellia sasanqua, and 'Narumigata' is a very fine choice, being fairly easy going and very happy to flower. Gardeners less than content growing the 'common' varieties can delight themselves with any of the 70-or-so varieties of Camellia sasanqua in cultivation in the UK (certainly as listed by the RHS Plantfinder).

Camellia sasanqua 'Narumigata

C. sasanqua 'Baronesa de Sautelinho'

The crisp white flowers of the sasanqua 'Baronesa de Sautelinho' are a delight; not very big, but each one is perfectly formed. 'Hugh Evans' has a large, more open pink flower.

Camellia sasanqua 'Hugh Evans'

Camellia sasanqua 'Cotton Candy'

Camellia sasanqua 'Cotton Candy' is a superb variety, similar to 'Hugh Evans' but certainly a more sought after variety- the flowers are sublime. C. sasanqua 'Rosea Plena' is unusual for it's double flowers and is well worth growing- a nod to the showy varieties seen in spring.

Camellia sasanqua 'Rosea Plena'

In recent years a new series of Camellias has been introduced from Australia, the 'Paradise Series'. Bred by the Paradise Plants Wholesale Nursery, these varieties have been selected to be either smaller growing (so suitable for smaller gardens) or larger and more vigorous to form screens and hedges (Camellia sasanqua hedges are popular in Australia but are largely untried in the UK, where growing habits can be quite different). Here are just a few Paradise Series Camellias:

'Paradise Glow'- vigorous upright variety

'Paradise Hilda'- vigorous upright variety

'Paradise Joan'- vigorous upright, early to flower/long season

'Paradise Vanessa'- vigorous upright variety

Camellia x vernalis is not as well known. A complex hybrid between C. sasanqua and C. japonica, this small group of autumn/winter flowering varieties contains one of the most eagerly sought of the late-season varieties, C. x vernalis 'Yuletide'.

Camellia x vernalis 'Yuletide'- one to seek!

With flowers of rich red and a boss of golden yellow stamens and backed by dark green leaves, 'Yuletide' certainly has a festive colour scheme. Seemingly no more difficult to grow than Camellia sasanqua varieties, and in a sheltered spot you might even see flowers at Christmas! 

The autumn flowering Camellias all benefit from a site in the garden where sunshine can ripen their wood before winter. Apart from that, site your Camellia out of morning sun in cold areas (early morning sun can damage frosted flowers and flower buds), and somewhere where you can enjoy their scent without having to wade through mud. There is some evidence that young plants of the autumn flowering Camellias don't appreciate too much feeding, so unless your soil is very poor it is probably wise to withhold fertiliser when planting. 

Oh, and just when you were confident about classifying autumn flowering Camellias as C. sasanqua or x vernalis varieties, here's Camellia 'November Pink', and autumn flowering variety of the almost exclusively spring flowering Camellia x williamsii varieties!

The odd one out- Camellia x williamsii 'November Pink'

Want to see more Camellia varieties? These pictures have all been graciously loaned by Jim's Camellias (so please don't steal them!). Click on the link to admire the diversity of Camellia blooms in cultivation, and maybe see a must-have variety. With so many different forms in a range of colours there is surely a Camellia for everyone...? Maybe you're convinced already and want to buy some new varieties for your garden... try here.