Fall blooming Camellia ‘Winter Star’ (Ackerman introduction)

Late winter flowering ‘Pink Icicle’ – Ackerman camellia

Drs. William L. Ackerman with the USDA (deceased) developed bred a series of interspecific crosses between C. oleifera and C. sasanqua, C. hiemalis, or C. vernalis selections. Many, not all, are identified as the Winter series because they bloom in the fall into very early winter.

Dr. Clifford Parks at the University of North Carolina (now retired) developed March-April blooming selections with mostly C. japonica bloodline. These hardy forms are rated plant hardy to zone 6. Open flower buds are susceptible to frost and freeze damage; tightly closed buds are not injured and open days later.

Grow camellias like you would rhododendrons or azaleas in direct morning sunlight or dabbled all day sun. The soil must be well-drained, compost-rich, and pH between 5.0 and 6.5. The intended site should be protected from drying winter winds.

Winter of 2013-14 was the roughest in my 8 to 9 years in growing camellias in northeast Tennessee. Several cultivars aborted 90% of flowers, particularly the March-April bloomers. All 12 camellia cultivars in my garden survived and look great as evergreen shrubs.

Subjecting them to direct winter winds and planting too late in the year are the two big mistakes. I urge gardeners to plant no later than October 1^st and to lay 2-3 inches of an organic mulch around newly planted camellia as a heat blanket. Any newly planted camellia should be deeply watered in and irrigated during period of deficit. October tends to be a dry month in several mid-South and Middle Atlantic states. One year old established camellias become moderately drought tolerant and should be never overwater. Irrigate only when the summer or winter months are unusually dry. 

Prune all camellia cultivars, whether fall, winter or spring bloomers, after the final flowers have dropped in late spring.