http://www.farmersalmanac.com/video/home-garden/gardeners-row-planting-camellias-with-benny-odum
Here’s a comprehensive (longish) video (3 mins, 34 second) from Benny Odum, someone who really knows his camellias. These flowering shrubs really are “colorful, beautiful and elegant”, as Benny says — but only if you plant them right.
Real estate is the answer to successful camellias: location, location, location. Ideally you should plant them in filtered light, in the dappled shade of a tree-filled area of the garden. “Not really heavy shade,” says Benny,”but not a whole lot of sun either.”
He gives a tremendous tip about transferring a plant from a black container bag into the ground: “Don’t dig the hole too deep, but rather wider than normal,” he says. “Loosen the soil, remove tree roots and build up the soil you remove in a ring around the hole.” Camellias (and azaleas) are, of course, synonymous with peat moss, the stringy stuff you mix with the soil to retain moisture for the plant — up to 20 times its weight in water, according to Benny — releasing it as the plant needs it.
When you position the plant in the hole make sure the pretty side of the plant is facing the way people are most likely to view it. Then rough up the roots in the soil still adhering to the plant so that the roots start growing outward once the camellia is planted and not in a circle. Mix the peat moss, soil and fertilizer on the rim of the hole, then plant the camellia. Put mulch around the plant to discourage evaporation. It’s clear from the way you have to handle camellias that they are thirsty, thirsty plants, and dislike dryness or too much heat and light.
