Description
Botanical Name: Camellia ‘Quintessence’ (japonica × lutchuensis)
Common Name: Quintessence Camellia, Fragrant Quintessence Camellia
Description: This is not your typical 12-15′ tall camellia we’re used to seeing. Nope. This is a beautiful, very dwarf, trailing/spreading camellia that is also fragrant. She is an evergreen shrub with oval, glossy, dark green leaves and semi-double, pink-flushed, white flowers from late winter into spring. The flowers have a musk-like scent, unique among camellias. She slowly grows to 1-2′ tall x 2-5′ wide, which makes her perfect to trail over the sides of a large container or to use as a front of the garden bed groundcover in the part sun to shady area of your garden. As you can see from the pics, the new growth is a beautiful bronze/red color that turns green as it ages. Like a lot of trailing plants, she grows upward first, then will start her trailing habit. Needs acidic soil, which is abundant in our area, and it must be well drained. Drought tolerant after becoming established. Keep in mind though that container plants usually need watering more often than those in garden beds. Bees, butterflies, hummers, and all the other pollinators love the nectar that the blooms give them.
This plant in 1-gallon containers is 1-2′ tall x 1-2′ wide.
Interesting Tidbit: ‘Beginning in the early 1960s, efforts were made using the most scented species, Camellia lutchuensis, to incorporate floral fragrance into commercially accepted cultivars. Several charming Lutchuensis have been created since then for the pleasure of our eyes and nose. Most of these camellia hybrids are strong, open-growing shrubs, with small evergreen leaves, often attractively copper-tinted, and bear small flowers in profusion.’ ~Gardenia Creating Gardens~
Hardiness Zones 8 – 10
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.