Shishi Gashira Camellia

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. Pruning time: winter after flowering.

This low and wide spreader boasts hot pink flowers and is ideal for raised planters in city gardens. Allow its unique weeping form to create the background for a romantic garden setting, or use it as a front-of-the-border feature. Excellent up against the house to cover foundations and to tuck neatly beneath windows. For a colorful effect during the dull days of winter, mass several under very large tree canopies with filtered shade. Equally at home as a single specimen around water gardens and pools, where the pendulous branches may trail off boulders and falling petals may float upon the still water.

The spreading habit makes this a great groundcover paired with blooming shrubs like Lily of the Valley, Hydrangea, Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. For an Asian theme, include Japanese Maple, Peony, Azalea, and Asiatic Lily. If trained into a topiary form, include other formal garden standouts like Boxwood, Gardenia and Spiral topiaries.

Sometimes referred to as Christmas Camellias, the sasanqua varieties of Camellia are native to the evergreen, coastal forests of southern Japan. It was introduced by Dutch traders into Europe in 1869. Shishi Gashira originated in Ikeda City, Japan. The Japanese use the leaves of sasanqua to make tea, and the seeds are pressed into tea seed oil for use as a lubricant and in cooking and cosmetics.