Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: Camellia ‘Winter’s Beauty’

For Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I took photos of Camellia ‘Winter’s Beauty’, flowering now in mid December, in Northern Virginia. Traditionally, camellias are thought of as a southern shrub, not at all tolerant of our USDA Zone 7, Virginia winters. However, the late Dr. William L. Ackerman developed a variety of cultivars that are hardy to USDA Zone 6 while he worked at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC. This particular camellia is ‘Winter’s Beauty’, part of the winter blooming Winter series of cold hardy camellias.  Although these photos were taken in mid December at Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA, these camellias can bloom earlier in November or later in January.  Camellias are broadleaf evergreen shrubs preferring moist, well-drained, acidic soil, and partial shade. This one can grow to about 7 to 12 feet high and 4 to 7 feet wide.