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Sparkling white, formal, double blooms. Flowers make a great contrast with the glossy, dark green foliage. A prized plant of the milder regions of the U.S.  Mid season bloomer.  Evergreen.  Moderate growing 6 to 8 ft. tall and wide, larger with age.  Filtered sun.  Cutting grown.

Performance and Requirements

Light needs: Filtered sun

Watering Needs: Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat.

Pruning Time: Winter after flowering

Growth Rate: Moderate Growing

Growth Habit: Erect

Design Information

Companion Plants

WINTER GEM BOXWOOD
Buxus microphylla japonica 'Winter Gem'

MINT JULEP^® JUNIPER
Juniperus chinensis 'Monlep'

FIRST LOVE^® GARDENIA (GRAFTED)
Gardenia jasminoides 'Aimee' (Grafted onto G. thunbergii)

AUTUMN MOON AZALEA
Azalea `Shugetsu` (Satsuki hybrid)

PLUM PASSION^® HEAVENLY BAMBOO
Nandina domestica 'Monum' P.P.# 12069

BLACK JAPANESE MAPLE
Acer palmatum 'Nigrum'

STELLAR PINK^® DOGWOOD
Cornus x 'Rutgan' P.P.# 7207

PURITY JAPANESE LILY OF THE VALLEY
Pieris japonica 'Purity'

BRIDAL VEIL^® ASTILBE
Astilbe x arendsii 'Bridal Veil'^® (A. x a. 'Brautschleier')

ENDLESS SUMMER^® BLUSHING BRIDE HYDRANGEA
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Blushing Bride' P.P.# 17169

AVALANCHE EVERGREEN CLEMATIS
Clematis x cartmanii 'Blaaval'

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Companion Plants (Description): The outstanding, formal blooms on this Camellia pair best with other garden classics such as Boxwood hedges, Juniper topiaries from Monrovia's Italianate Collection, as well as fragrant Gardenias. To stay true to its Asian heritage, plant with Azalea, Heavenly Bamboo, Japanese Maple, Dogwood and Lily of the Valley. For those shady beds close to your outdoor patios, create a moonlight garden with white blooming Astilbe, Hydrangea, and Clematis. Provide some filtered shade with small stature, white blooming trees like Apple Serviceberry, and Redbud.

Design Styles: Be sure to keep this beauty in viewing distance in patio beds, containers or decorating the foundation plantings around your house.  Great as an espalier to cover walls.  If set back in a woodland setting, plant in mass and compliment with low growing perennials.  A wonderful specimen in Asian gardens.

Care Information

Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Provide well drained soil, rich in organic matter. Feed with an acid fertilizer after bloom. Keep roots cool with a thick layer of mulch.

Background Information

History: Camellias are native to eastern and southern Asia. C. japonica was imported into the Philippines but is native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The genus Camellia was named by Carolus Linnaeus who named it for a Jesuit missionary Georg Kamel, who cultivated an important garden of local medicinal plants on the Philippine Island of Luzon in the 17th century.  Nuccio's Gem originated in 1965 from a chance seedling at Nuccio's Nurseries in Altadena, California.  Red camellias are a symbol of wealth and white Camellias signify loveliness. Camellias represent longevity and faithfulness and have long been a primary floral component in Asian weddings.

Botanical Pronunciation: ka-MEL-i-a ja-PON-i-ka

Catalog Description: Sparkling white, formal, double blooms. Flowers make a great contrast with the glossy, dark green foliage. A prized plant of the milder regions of the U.S.  Mid season bloomer.  Evergreen.  Moderate growing 6 to 8 ft. tall and wide, larger with age.  Filtered sun.  Cutting grown.