(Camellia, Japanese Camillia, Yours Truly Camellia)

The medium-sized, semi-double, mid- to late-season blooms of 'Yours Truly' are pink with white edges and deep-pink veining. This sport of 'Lady Vansittart' originated in the 1940s. It is one of thousands of named selections and hybrids of Camellia japonica, a broadleaf evergreen shrub that has long been grown and treasured in its native East Asia.

This slow-growing, bushy, upright shrub has ascending, gray-barked branches and oval, glossy, dark-green leaves with wavy, serrated edges....

(Camellia, Fragrant Camellia)

Strong, delicious fragrance wafts from the numerous white flowers of Camellia lutchuensis from midwinter to early spring. It is sometimes ambiguously, but appropriately, dubbed the fragrant camellia because it is truly the most fragrant of them all. This evergreen shrub is native to the forests and thickets of southernmost China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan's Ryukyu Islands where winters are mild. Plant breeders prize this species for the development of fragrant Camellia hybrids,...

(Yellow Camellia)

For generations, western horticulturists had only heard of the seemingly mythical, yellow-flowered camellia. The seeds of Camellia nitidissima were finally released from China in the 1970s, much to the surprise and pleasure of the botanical and horticultural communities. This broadleaf evergreen shrub to small tree is native to a small, narrow area in the highland forests of southwestern China and northern Vietnam.

The leathery, elongated, oval leaves of this species are glossy, emerald...

(Camellia, Tea-oil Camellia)

Long cultivated as a source of cooking and cosmetic oil, this exceptionally cold-hardy camellia is also a valuable ornamental plant. Tea-oil camellia has been cultivated for so long that its precise native range is obscure, though east-central China around the Huai He Valley is a likely location.

This small, erect evergreen tree or large shrub develops slender branches that tend to slightly droop at the tips. The tapered, elliptical leaves are dark green with lighter green undersides. Fragrant...

(Camellia, Lu Shan Snow Camellia, Tea-oil Camellia)

Long cultivated as a source of cooking and cosmetic oil, Camellia oleifera is prized by gardeners for its fragrant white blooms and exceptional cold-hardiness. The cultivar 'Lu Shan Snow' originated in 1948 at the United States National Arboretum in Washington, DC, from seed obtained from China's Lushan Botanical Garden. It was the only camellia not damaged by the severe winters that devastated the arboretum's collections in the late 1970s. National Arboretum horticulturist William L. Ackerman...

(To-tsubaki, Yunnan Camellia)

A large, winter-blooming, evergreen shrub (or small tree) from south-central China, Camellia reticulata has long been admired and cultivated for its profusion of large, single, rose-pink flowers. This relatively hardy camellia is native to upland forests in western Guizhou, southwestern Sichuan, and Yunnan.

This rather slow-growing, dense, upright shrub has upright, gray-barked branches and leathery, oval, dark-green leaves with paler undersides. The leaves have netted veins and finely...

(Big Dipper Camellia, To-tsubaki, Yunnan Camellia)

The huge, semi-double, carmine-pink blooms of 'Big Dipper' open in winter, early in the camellia season. This open-pollinated seedling of Camellia reticulata 'Dali Cha' was selected by Houghton Hall of San Anselmo, California.

This large, upright, rapidly growing shrub has ascending to spreading, gray-barked branches and leathery, oval, dark-green leaves with finely toothed margins. Each flower has about 19 large, undulating petals surrounding a central cluster of pale yellow stamens...

(Dora Lee Camellia, To-tsubaki, Yunnan Camellia)

The huge, semi-double, bright-pink blooms of 'Dora Lee' open toward the end of the camellia season. It originated in 1983 at Gene's Nursery in Savannah, Georgia, from a cross between the Camellia reticulata hybrids 'Valley Knudsen' and 'Jean Pursel'.

This large, upright, rapidly growing shrub has ascending, gray-barked branches and leathery, oval, dark-green leaves with finely toothed margins. Each flower has numerous large, slightly wavy petals with a few smaller "petaloids" at its...

(Eden Roc Camellia, To-tsubaki, Yunnan Camellia)

The large, semi-double, midseason blooms of 'Eden Roc' have shell-pink, crepe-textured petals. This open-pollinated seedling of a "wild form" of Camellia reticulata was selected by David Feathers of Lafayette, California, in the mid-1970s.

This large, upright, vigorous shrub has ascending, gray-barked branches and leathery, oval, dark-green leaves with finely toothed margins. Each flower has numerous large, irregular, wavy-edged petals surrounding a central column of white stamens with...

(Camellia, Sasanqua )

Warm days, cool nights -- fall and it’s time to look for the colorful blooms of Camellia sasanqua. These evergreen shrubs don’t get as much attention as their more popular cousin, the large-flowered common Japanese camellia, but they should. Native to Japan, sasanquas, as they are known to garden enthusiasts, have a long history of use for tea, oil and ornament.

Glossy, thin but leathery, elliptical, dark green leaves with toothed margins are held on thin stems. The plants can have...