The Early Wonder Camellia from the Southern Living Plant Collection is a brand-new selection for 2019! This is a Camellia japonica variety, therefore, it has many of the qualities people love about this breed of plants. However, most Japonica varieties begin blooming in late fall to early winter, and that’s where the Early Wonder breaks the mold. This selection begins blooming in Fall, a time when traditionally only Camellia sasanqua varieties are in bloom! And these flowers are absolute show-stoppers. Each bloom is a large, formal, and rosy pink with double petals. You won’t get tired of looking at these blossoms anytime soon, which is good because they emerge in huge numbers.
The Early Wonder Camellia produces leathery, dark green leaves with lightly serrated edges. This foliage is evergreen and grows naturally in an upright habit.
This variety reaches a mature height of 6-8′ H x 4-6′ W, so be sure to leave room for it to grow.
The Early Wonder Camellia is a perfect choice for a specimen, accent, mass planting, hedge, or even privacy planting.
Check out few other new Southern Living Plant Collection Camellias, the Christmas Carol Camellia, the October Magic Carpet Camellia, and the October Magic White Shi Shi Camellia.
Hardy from USDA Zones 7-9, down to 0°F when fully established in the landscape.
Plant in Full Sun to Partial Shade for best results, at least 3-4 hours of direct sun a day. Too little sun results in decreased foliage and bloom production.
Water 2-3 times per week during the first growing season while experiencing average weather conditions. During the second season, provide 1-2 supplementary waterings weekly.
The Early Wonder Camellia, like other camellias, prefers slightly acidic soil with good drainage. If you don’t know your soil pH, consider picking up a pH tester. If the pH is too high, supplement your soil with elemental sulfur to lower it.
Fertilize yearly with either a slow-release acidic plant fertilizer or an organic acidic plant fertilizer.
For a solid wall of foliage, plant your Early Wonder Camellias about 3 feet apart. For slight space between plantings or a casual plant screen, plant them 5+ feet apart.
Cd (verified owner) –
I got a 3-gallon. But they sent me a very small plant. There are no buds on it.
While my other 3-gallon camellias got buds and already opened.
anne_shaver (verified owner) –
As always the plant was great. However the UPS for the second time did a lousy job of delivering your wonderful product. The box had been turned upside down. Half the dirt was in the bottom of the box. The roots were fully exposed and the plant was off center against the edge of the pot. Several of the branches of new growth were broken. I immediately added potting soil to the plant and watered it. The plant seems to be doing fine after all that. I Planted it the following day. That was the 2nd bad experience with UPS and plants delivered. Fedex does a better job of delivering plants.
Peaches (verified owner) –
Nice looking plant and is growing well.
loveme2the9s (verified owner) –
All of my plants (4 encore azaleas/ 1 camelia) arrived quickly and in perfect condition. This was my first time buying plants online and I was so worried about the sweltering Alabama heat (zone 7b) damaging them in transit. But the packaging was superb and I had my plants within 24 hrs after receiving my FedEx tracking number. I also got lucky that we had a weeklong rain so temps were in the upper 70s.
I noticed the plants were shipped from a nursery about 5 hrs away. FedEx delivered first thing in the morning too so everything worked out. I will definitely order again.
Thanks to Jim Putnam from Hortube (YouTube), he has really helped me select plants suited for my zone.
T
Jenny Pang (verified owner) –
very healthy plant
Gioconda (verified owner) –
Plant arrived healthy and size of the plant in accordance with the price. It is doing well in my garden, adapting so far.
Mike (verified owner) –
Plants arrived quickly and in beautiful shape. They package the plants so well for shipment. I watched as the FedEx lady juggled the boxes and then dropped them on my porch, but the plants were packed so well that there was minimal damage, if any.
gevs24 (verified owner) –
Plant came well packed, came sooner than what I expected which was a great surprise. The price I paid was in accordance with what I received. This is my first time ordering online, I am satisfied with my order.
Jeanne Miller –
I recently bought a 1910 house and to my surprise I have a pink Early Wonder Camellia that is 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It is breathtaking. So this must be an old variety.
Today I removed some overgrown vines and found a red one!
YvonneNC (verified owner) –
So glad I ordered this camellia. Shipped quickly and was packaged well. Lots of flower buds and healthy looking leaves. Can’t wait to see the blooms!
MARGARITAVALDEZ44 (verified owner) –
Beautiful, healthy camellias right out of the box. Received my order in two days and can’t wait to see this plant in bloom.
Kim Eudy (verified owner) –
I learned about Plants by Mail by Jim Putnam on his YouTube Channel, “Horttube”. Everything he said about the quality of the plants proved true in my case. They look awesome and I’ll certainly purchase from Plants by Mail in the future.