Commonplace they may be, but there's nothing ordinary about camellias. Polished evergreen foliage provides a great contrast with brightly coloured flowers and brings life to dull winter gardens. And when the flowers open their '­alabaster petals' — as the novelist Balzac put it — camellias are positively regal. They are easy to grow, but picky about soil. If yours is acid, free-draining and nutritious, they'll thrive, but they mope in alkaline or neutral ground. So, if your soil doesn't suit, plant in containers in ericaceous compost. The polished evergreen foliage of Camellias makes for a great contrast to the brightly coloured flowers . Camellias are amazingly versatile. You can give them free rein or prune to keep them compact. I've seen them trained on walls, bent over arches and even grown as hedging. Tender kinds such as C. reticulata make outstanding conservatory plants. Camellias are happy in sun or shade and grow as readily among other shrubs as in isolation. Though frost will damage open flowers, the buds and plants of most are bone hardy. And unlike other spring shrubs, camellias stagger their flowering over a long time. PERFECT FOR POTS . Potted camellias won't last as long as those in the ground. They tend to lose their youthful charm after five or six years, but are not difficult to propagate. If you don't want to buy new, take root cuttings and bring them on as replacements. The best time to take cuttings is between September and February, but you can try it now. Select healthy young shoots for leaf bud cuttings. Snip out sections, each with a single leaf and a little bud by the leaf stalk. Sever each stem just above that bud and again an inch below the leaf. Put the cutting in a mix of potting compost and grit or Perlite and place in a cold frame or propagator. This is also a good time to buy camellia plants. You can see them in flower, select your favourites and enjoy this year's display. The choice is vast, with 250 wild species and hundreds more garden varieties. Camellia japonica — native to cooler regions of China, Japan and Korea — has given rise to the hardiest and prettiest. I grow sumptuous red semidouble Adolphe Audusson and single white Alba Simplex, which thrive in containers in our bracing Lincolnshire climate. The Williamsii hybrids are also gorgeous. Developed in the Twenties by J. C. Williams, the former owner of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall, they have a greatly extended flowering season. I grow the first-named of his progeny, St Ewe. If the weather is mild, the single pink flowers appear in midwinter and continue until April. PINK AND PERKY . You may not have heard of St Ewe, but you're likely to know Donation, Britain's most popular Camellia variety. The semi-double, subtly veined pink flowers have a translucent alabaster gleam and it never stints on flower numbers. If your soil is borderline acid, Williamsii camellias, such as Donation, seem to do best. Each spring, work sulphur powder into the ground round the plants at 200g per square metre to boost acidity. And feed camellias — as well as other lime-haters — with chelated iron tonic. Otherwise, problems are few. Premature bud drop is caused by lack of water in summer, so keep the potting compost moist. Yellowing foliage signals a magnesium deficiency, but you can cure that with Epsom salts. Dissolve 20g per litre of water and sprinkle on the leaves and the ground around the plant. If, in mid-spring, your bush is disfigured by too many dead flowers, grab the main stems and give them an energetic shake. A storm of dead petals and debris will fly in all directions — but the buds will be unharmed and a glorious new display will be imminent.
The Camellias evergreen foliage provides a contrast to the bright flowers .
They are easy to grow and like acid, free-draining and nutritious soil .
Camellias are happy in sun or shade and grow readily among other shrubs .