Camellia Crimson Candles

Camellia ‘Crimson Candles’ is an evergreen sasanqua camellia prized for its long, dark red buds visible throughout winter. Produced in abundance, they open into single to semi-double corollas of a lovely bright rose-red. An evergreen bush of good structure, it finds its place in the garden in an acid soil bed or in a large container on the terrace. Its naturally upright habit and glossy foliage are decorative all year round, even outside the flowering period.

Belonging to the Theaceae family, Camellia ‘Crimson Candles’ is the result of the cross-breeding of C. reticulata and C. fraterna registered in 1995 by Dr. Clifford R. Parks (Camellia Forest Nursery, North Carolina); it is sometimes encountered under the name Camellia × ‘Crimson Candles’, and, more rarely but incorrectly, C. japonica ‘Crimson Candles’. The parent species originate from China: C. reticulata from the southwest (Yunnan, Sichuan) and C. fraterna from the southeast (Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang…).
It is named for its elongated, crimson-red flower buds, held upright along the branches like candles. The bush adopts an erect and dense habit; in the ground, it reaches 1.40 m in height with a 1 m spread at 10 years old, 2.50 m to 4 m in height with a 1.50 m to 2.50 m spread in 20 years. Grown in a large container, it is most often limited to 1.80–2.50 m in height with a 1.20–1.80 m spread. The stems are brown, the young shoots sometimes tinged with bronze; the evergreen foliage consists of ovate to elliptical, leathery, dark green, glossy leaves, 6 to 10 cm long, with a finely toothed margin. 
The flowers are single (generally 5 to 7 petals surrounding a cluster of yellow stamens), but, depending on the plant's age, weather, or nutrition, some flowers can show petaloids or a few extra petals and occasionally take on the appearance of a semi‑double corolla; their diameter is around 6 to 7.5 cm. The long, dark red buds remain decorative from December to February; the main flowering period extends from February to March. The hardiness of this cultivar is estimated at −12/−15 °C in well-drained soil; the buds and flowers tolerate moderate frosts.

Crimson Candles is valuable for extending the camellia season thanks to its long, colourful buds visible all winter, before the arrival of Japanese azaleas. Use it as a specimen plant near an entrance, in a group of three plants at the back of an acidic soil bed, or in an informal hedge. For a pot, choose a container with a minimum diameter of 50 cm, a special ericaceous plants mix enriched with leaf compost and water regularly with low-lime water. Pair it with dwarf rhododendrons, variegated pieris and purple hellebores.

The name Camellia was given to the plant in 1735 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Von Linné, in homage to Georg Josef Kamel (Latinised to "Camellus"), an apothecary in the service of the Jesuits in the Philippines at the end of the 17th century. It was 1792 before the Camellia arrived in Europe.