I constantly keep my eye on the latest research and test it out myself in the garden back at the nursery to make sure you get the very best advice on how to plant successfully.
1. Decide where you want to plant and remove any weeds growing in the area.
2. Water your plant well in its pot before planting. Letting it sit in a bucket of water until it is well soaked is very effective.
3. Dig a hole twice as deep and three times as wide as the root ball (this is the compost around the roots of the plant) in the pot and then loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole to improve the drainage. Don't skimp on this stage as it is crucial to your plant's quick establishment in the garden and its ongoing success over the years.
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The Perfect Present
Ask any experienced gardener and they will confirm that Camellias are some of the best plants to give as presents. They look luxurious and exotic and long established gardeners love them but they are easy to grow so new gardeners will find them very rewarding. They grow in pots or in the ground so they suit all sizes of gardens. They love some shade so they work in difficult spots. They keep their handsome foliage all year round, they live for years and years and years and they flower in the early spring - what more could you want?
Our Camellias are all lined up in the glasshouse ready to find their way to your garden. This picture shows you 15,000 Camellia "Dr King" all looking lovely and evenly grown and packed with flower buds.
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How to Plant in a Pot
The great news about Rhododendrons, Camellias and Azaleas is that they are so adaptable that they grow really well in pots and containers. Sometimes we grow them there because we have the wrong soil, sometimes just because we want colour in pots.
So how do you go about it?
First, look at the size of your plant and choose a pot where the measurement across the top is about 10-20cm smaller than the width of the plant branches. This stops the compost getting too wet in rainy weather.
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