Sasanqua camellia
Camellia sasanqua · Theaceae Popular
A camellia that flowers in autumn and early winter, with smaller leaves, a looser habit and masses of single or semi-double, lightly scented flowers. It takes more sun than its spring cousin.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 7 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early October to mid December
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around sasanqua camellia
The planner designed this bed around sasanqua camellia when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 7, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 722 that suit those conditions, and says below why sasanqua camellia stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sasanqua camellia × 1, pink
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 8, tan
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 38, yellow
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Easter lily × 4, white
- 8 Camassia × 5, blue
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are spires, daisies, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do moor grass 'Greenlee' and palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 11 weeks. From early October to mid December.
- Closes the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 8 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Low plants run along 99% of the front edge: mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' and moor grass 'Greenlee'. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan, cream and white to calm things between them. The Design check says heights needs revision.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 14 in at the front, 2½ ft in the middle and 5 ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 3½ ft and 8 ft, and no two neighbours are the same height.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sasanqua camellia goes in a border
At 8 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
It flowers when the rest of the garden is closing down. Faster and more sun-tolerant than Japanese camellia, it makes a good informal hedge.
- Autumn flowers
- Evergreen hedges and screens
- Training against a wall
What to plant with sasanqua camellia
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Autumn fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (22 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lilyturf: flowers first, early August to mid September, so the spot is never empty; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lenten rose: flowers first, late March to early May, so the spot is never empty; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about sasanqua camellia
Does sasanqua camellia need sun or shade?
Sasanqua camellia grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does sasanqua camellia grow in?
USDA zones 7 to 9. It is hardy to zone 7, which means it survives winter nights down to about 10 °F (−12 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does sasanqua camellia flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early October to mid December. As an autumn flower it keeps much the same dates in every zone: it answers to shortening days and cool nights more than to the warmth of spring.
| Zone 7 | Early October to mid December |
|---|---|
| Zone 8 | Early October to mid December |
| Zone 9 | Early October to mid December |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should sasanqua camellia be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sasanqua camellia plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is sasanqua camellia poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat sasanqua camellia?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does sasanqua camellia look like in winter?
Sasanqua camellia keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is sasanqua camellia good for bees and butterflies?
Sasanqua camellia is visited by pollinators and songbirds.
More Camellia
- Camellia 'April Blush' Camellia japonica 'April Blush'
- Japanese camellia Camellia japonica
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Plants that flower in fall
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early October to mid December; open bowls; pink, white, red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 7 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Theaceae
- Comes from
- Japan
- Attracts
- Pollinators, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.