Camellia sasanqua Blush

The Autumn Camellia or Camellia sasanqua ‘Blush’ is also sold under the names ‘Paradise Blush’ or ‘Blush Paradise’. This evergreen shrub has captivating, generous autumn flowering, which enlivens borders or large containers near an entrance. Its semi-double flowers are white with a pink reverse and delicately scented; they continue to appear until the heart of winter. Its compact growth and glossy, dark green foliage make it an excellent subject for clipped hedges or topiary art.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Blush’ belongs to the Theaceae family. This cultivar derives from the Japanese botanical species Camellia sasanqua, native to the southern islands (Shikoku, Kyūshū, Ryūkyū) where it grows on forest edges and open slopes, often at low altitudes. The epithet sasanqua comes from the Japanese sazanka (autumn camellia).
Selected in Australia by Paradise Plants in the 1990s as part of the Paradise® series, ‘Blush’ was chosen for its floribundus nature, its coloured buds and its good performance in hedges. The bush has a bushy, compact, slightly upright habit, moderate growth, and evergreen, dark green, glossy foliage formed of elliptical, finely toothed leaves, 3 to 7 cm long. In the ground, it reaches 1.30 m in height with a 1 m spread at 10 years old, eventually between 1.50 and 2.50 m in height with a similar spread; in a large pot, it remains more compact, around 1 to 1.50 m depending on the container volume and pruning. The young shoots are slender, and the bark becomes brown-grey and smooth with age. 
Flowering occurs from October to December in the form of semi-double corollas 4 to 5 cm in diameter, white with a delicately pink reverse, emerging from deep pink buds; the yellow stamens remain clearly visible and emit a light fragrance.

Like all camellias, ‘Blush’ prefers acidic to neutral, humus-bearing, well-drained but moist soils. It thrives in partial shade or gentle sun, in a location sheltered from cold winds; this variety tolerates sun better than C. japonica. It is hardy to around –12 to –15 °C.
‘Blush’ is well-suited to creating a clipped hedge 1.50 to 2 m high along a path; it also adapts to cultivation in large containers (40–60 litres and more). Pair it with other ericaceous plants with complementary shapes: Pieris japonica, Nandina 'Fire Power' for their coloured foliage, Skimmias for their pretty winter berries, or dwarf Japanese maples. Combine it with camellia cultivars with staggered flowering periods: Camellia sasanqua ‘Setsugekka’ (white, in autumn), C. sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ (red, late autumn-early winter), C. × williamsii ‘Donation’ (winter-spring) and C. japonica ‘Nuccio’s Gem’ (late winter-spring).

In colder regions, it can be placed on a balcony or terrace and brought into a conservatory or cold greenhouse during its flowering period. As a last resort, provided its foliage is misted regularly and it is watered with non-calcareous water, it can be protected from the cold in a very lightly heated apartment.