Early Wonder® Camellia

Dazzle yourself and your neighbors with the heavy fall and early winter blooms of Early Wonder® Camellia (Camellia japonica 'Early Autumn'). This special cultivar delivers an abundance of profuse lavender-rose, formal double blooms held on an upright plant!

Part of the Southern Living Plant Collection, Early Wonder® brings a formal appeal to full sun and part shade spots in your garden. The blooms are truly just as pretty as a picture and are made all the more appealing against lush, dark green broad-leaf evergreen foliage!

A single Early Wonder® Camellia becomes an upright, energetic specimen shrub about 6-8 feet in height and spreads 4-6 feet in width. Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 7 to 9, cooler climates can use these amazing ornamentals as patio plants all growing season, and then bring them indoors, or into greenhouses, for the winter.

Planting and Application:

Here is an evergreen shrub to feature as a living garden wall around an outdoor dining room for al fresco dining under the stars. Use the other side to hide away a private Secret Garden destination spot! Plant it where you need to define a moment of transition on your garden path to give your guests a natural reason to pause!

As specimens and front yard focal points, use these shrubby ornamentals as glorious berm accents and curb appeal! Separate your front yard from the sidewalk with rows or groupings. Take things up a notch by 'limbing up' these shrubs into small accent trees by removing the lower branches to expose the multi-trunked form!

Use several to hide unsightly views all year long, creating backdrops, property division, and screening rows for year-round cover and bird shelter. You'll give thanks for this hard-working privacy hedge every single day!

Run a long hedge of this top-selling cultivar along the back of your mixed border. You can even incorporate Early Wonder® into the edge of woodlands, as Camellias make a very special addition to lightly dappled shade areas.

It's more than possible to grow these beautiful bushes in oversized garden containers for many years. Try a pair on either side of your patio French doors to deliver a dramatic entrance. Anywhere Early Wonder® is planted, you'll have happy pollinators and armloads of cut flowers!

• Gorgeous Rose-Pink Concentric Double Blooms
• Pollinator Friendly & Incredible Cut Flowers
• Upright Growing Broad-Leaf Evergreen
• Glossy Green Foliage Year-Round!
• Fantastic Container Accents, Specimens, Hedges, Privacy & Shade Gardens

#ProPlantTips for Care:

This extraordinary Camellia performs well in either full sun (in cooler zones) or part shade, with at least four hours of sunlight each day. In the hottest zones, Camellias need afternoon shade. They'll also need well-drained, acidic soil so mound them up or grow in containers if your soil is heavy or alkaline. Although tough and rugged once established in your soil, we do recommend regular supplemental water during the first season in the ground and during dry weather.

Prune to shape in early spring before the first flush of flowers. Feed in early spring, too, and keep nitrogen-rich lawn fertilizer away from your flowering Early Wonder®. It's also recommended that you use deer repellent on the day you plant and reapply according to the label directions.

Be sure to give life-long support for your landscape investment with symbiotic Nature Hills Root Booster used in the planting hole, then apply a 3-4 inch layer of pine bark mulch over the top of the shallow root system but never directly touching the stems or trunk.

Fertilize twice a year with Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Premium and Organic Fertilizer in the late winter and early summer. For container growing choose a potting mix recommended for Azaleas, Camellias, and Rhododendrons.

• Grow in Part Shade or Afternoon Shade
• Easy to Grow in Acidic, Well-Drained Soils
• Displays Drought Tolerance Once Established
• Prune After Flowering
• Low Maintenance & Widely Adapted

You'll never regret choosing our high-quality Camellias as a valuable asset to decorate the outside of your home. With year-round appeal is married to easy-care, healthy genetics, and don't forget those spectacular early blooms! Order your own Early Wonder® Camellia from Nature Hills today!