Overview

Introduce a touch of sophisticated beauty to your landscape with the King’s Ransom Camellia live plant. This exquisite evergreen shrub, scientifically known as Camellia Japonica ‘King’s Ransom’, is celebrated for its stunning, large, soft pink, peony-like flowers that emerge from late winter through mid-spring. Perfect for those seeking vibrant color when most other plants are dormant, the King’s Ransom Camellia live plant provides year-round appeal with its glossy, dark green foliage. Its upright growing habit makes it a versatile choice for a variety of garden designs, from a solitary specimen to a dense, private hedge. This robust plant offers both aesthetic charm and a relatively low-maintenance profile, making it a favorite among gardeners of all skill levels. Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast of Camellia Japonica care or new to the world of flowering shrubs, this variety promises to be a rewarding addition to your outdoor space.

The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is a prime example of a winter-blooming beauty, offering a spectacular show of color when the garden needs it most. Its lush evergreen leaves provide a consistent backdrop, ensuring your garden remains vibrant even in colder months. The distinctive soft pink Camellia blooms are not only visually appealing but also attract attention, making it a focal point in any setting. This particular evergreen Camellia shrub is adaptable to various soil conditions, provided they are well-drained, and thrives in morning sun with afternoon shade, or filtered sun throughout the day. Its resilience and striking appearance make it an excellent choice for adding structure and seasonal interest to your garden or patio.

Key Benefits

The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant offers a multitude of benefits that make it an outstanding choice for any garden or landscape. Its unique characteristics contribute to its appeal and ease of care, providing lasting beauty and functionality.

• Spectacular Winter to Spring Blooms: Enjoy abundant, large, soft pink, peony-like flowers during late winter and early spring, providing much-needed color when other plants are dormant. This makes the King’s Ransom Camellia live plant a standout feature in any garden.
• Year-Round Evergreen Foliage: The luscious dark green leaves remain on the plant throughout the year, offering continuous greenery and structure to your landscape, perfect for creating year-round interest.
• Versatile Landscape Use: With an upright growing habit, this camellia can be used as a striking solitary specimen, grouped for impact, or planted as a dense hedge for privacy and windbreaks. It’s also suitable for espalier or container growing.
• Low Maintenance & Resilient: Once established, this evergreen Camellia shrub is relatively low-maintenance, requiring average water and exhibiting good resistance to deer, drought, heat, and humidity. This simplifies Camellia Japonica care significantly.
• Attracts Visual Attention: The vibrant soft pink Camellia flowers are a magnet for visual interest, making this plant a focal point in cottage gardens, Asian gardens, woodland borders, and mixed shrub beds.
• Adaptable to Various Zones: Hardy in USDA Zones 7a-10b, it can be grown outdoors in a wide range of climates, and even in containers in colder zones if brought indoors during winter.
• Ideal for Cut Flowers: The beautiful, large blooms are perfect for cutting and bringing indoors, adding a touch of elegance to your home arrangements.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper Camellia Japonica care is essential to ensure your King’s Ransom Camellia live plant thrives and produces its stunning blooms year after year. This evergreen Camellia shrub prefers specific conditions to reach its full potential. For sunlight, it performs best in morning sun with afternoon shade or in areas with filtered sun throughout the day. Direct, intense afternoon sun, especially in warmer climates, can scorch the leaves and stress the plant. Aim for at least 4-6 hours of indirect or morning sunlight.

When it comes to watering, the King’s Ransom Camellia live plant requires average moisture, especially when establishing. Once established, its water needs decrease, showing good drought resistance. The key is consistent moisture without waterlogging. The soil should be well-drained and moist. This plant prefers an acidic soil pH between 5.0 and 6.5. Amend heavy clay soils with organic matter to improve drainage, and sandy soils to enhance moisture retention. A good quality, well-draining potting mix is ideal for container-grown specimens. Fertilize in late winter or early spring after blooming with a slow-release, acid-loving plant fertilizer. Avoid fertilizing in late summer or fall, as this can stimulate new growth that is vulnerable to winter cold.

The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7a-10b. In zones towards the colder end of this range, providing some winter protection or planting in a sheltered location can be beneficial. While generally resistant to deer, drought, heat, and humidity, it does have intolerances to direct afternoon sun and constantly soggy soil. Common problems include scale insects or camellia tea mites, which can be managed with horticultural oil. Pruning should be done after flowering to shape the plant and remove any dead or crossing branches. This will encourage healthy new growth and more abundant blooms for your soft pink Camellia.

Size & Details

The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is typically shipped in a 1 gallon container, providing a healthy start for your garden. At maturity, this evergreen Camellia shrub can reach an impressive height of 8 to 12 feet and a width of 6 to 8 feet, making it a significant presence in the landscape. Its upright growing habit allows it to be shaped as a shrub or even a small tree. The large, 3-4 inch, semi-double to double soft pink flowers are a highlight, appearing from late winter to early spring. The dark green foliage provides an attractive backdrop all year round, ensuring continuous visual appeal.

For solid hedges, space plants approximately 5 feet apart. If you prefer more space between plants, a distance of 12 feet or more is recommended. The growth rate is moderate, allowing the plant to establish well within a few seasons. This King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is ideal for various uses, from specimen planting to creating privacy screens. It will arrive as a healthy, actively growing plant, ready for transplanting into your garden or a larger container. With proper Camellia Japonica care, you can expect this plant to become a long-lived and cherished part of your outdoor environment, bringing its beautiful soft pink Camellia blooms for many years.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant typically grows to a mature height of 8-12 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide, forming an upright evergreen shrub that can also be trained as a small tree.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: This King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is supplied in a 1 gallon trade container, providing a well-rooted and established plant ready for transplanting.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is primarily an outdoor evergreen shrub, hardy in USDA Zones 7a-10b. It can be grown in containers and brought indoors in colder zones during winter.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: It thrives in morning sun with afternoon shade or in locations with filtered sun all day. Avoid direct, intense afternoon sun, especially in hot climates, to prevent leaf scorch.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, this evergreen Camellia shrub is considered low-maintenance once established, requiring average watering and exhibiting good resistance to common garden stressors, making Camellia Japonica care relatively straightforward.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your King’s Ransom Camellia live plant will arrive healthy and green, carefully packaged to ensure its safe transit and readiness for planting.
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: This camellia typically blooms from late winter to early spring, usually starting to flower within one to two seasons after planting, once it has established itself in your garden.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: The optimal time for planting is mid to late spring after the danger of hard frost has passed, or in early fall, allowing the plant sufficient time to establish before extreme weather.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: The King’s Ransom Camellia live plant is winter hardy in USDA Zones 7a-10b. Gardeners in Zone 7a and colder zones might consider providing winter protection or growing it in a container that can be moved indoors.
• Q: What’s the minimum temperature it can tolerate? A: It can tolerate temperatures down to approximately 0-5°F in Zone 7a, though protection is recommended during severe cold snaps, especially for younger plants.