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Red flowers while the garden is still half asleep 😴
Family: Theaceae · Pot diameter: 15cm · Height: about 30cm
Camellia japonica ‘Blood of China’ brings a warm salmon-red glow to the heart of the camellia season. Its generous flowers unfold irregular, gently waved petals, ranging from semi-double to loose peony form, and reveal a small golden centre as they open fully. Against polished deep-green foliage, every bloom seems brighter. This is a camellia full of life and character, combining vivid colour with a natural, unforced elegance.
Its dense evergreen habit acts as a strong architectural element in partially shaded courtyards, sheltered entrances and larger pots, developing over time into an impressive specimen shrub. Red brings stone, timber and neutral walls to life, so the cultivar produces a powerful result with very little companion planting.
Three characteristics explain why this cultivar genuinely stands out: its principal colour display, its particular natural habit and the value it retains beyond a single season.
Early flowering supplies high colour intensity while much of the garden remains quiet.
Irregular petals reveal a small group of golden stamens in the fully open flower.
The dense broad habit acquires substantial presence as it matures.
Why you will love it: Vivid red against glossy evergreen foliage in the quietest part of the garden year.
Use it as a specimen by a sheltered entrance, in the middle to rear layer of a border or in a large pot capable of supporting long-term growth.
For a loose group, allow at least 2.5m from centre to centre. In a smaller space, choose one camellia as the focal point rather than a crowded row.
Combine red, deep green, cream and natural timber or stone tones in bright partial shade and acid, cool, free-draining soil.
Bright partial shade or gentle morning sun, with shelter from hot midday light, drying winds and sudden changes.
Even, cool moisture without waterlogging; pay particular attention from summer through bud development.
Evergreen and winter hardy with an RHS H5 rating. A sheltered position reduces damage to buds and early flowers.
This page covers ornamental use. Do not consume flowers or leaves without certain identification, and keep pruning tools clean.
Place in bright partial shade or gentle morning sun, sheltered from hot midday light, drying winds and sudden early sun after frost.
It needs organic, acid to neutral soil that holds cool moisture yet drains freely. Plant shallowly, keeping the root surface level with the surrounding soil.
Choose a roomy outdoor pot with excellent drainage and an ericaceous growing medium. Avoid moving into an excessively large pot, as unused compost is slow to dry.
Maintain even moisture, especially from summer through bud development. Water thoroughly when the surface begins to dry and always allow excess water to escape.
Use an ericaceous fertiliser sparingly after flowering and in early summer, applying it only to already moist compost. Stop late feeding so new growth can ripen.
The natural habit needs very little pruning. Clean or correct lightly just after flowering and shelter buds and flowers from cold, drying air.
After planting, growth may remain slower while the root system settles. Correct moisture and a sheltered microclimate build the base for dense future growth.
Main stems branch gradually to form a dense, bushy, broadly upright habit. Its natural line is best maintained with light correction rather than rigid clipping.
With maturity it repeats its principal display every year: salmon-red flowers, from semi-double to loose peony form, from late winter through spring.
Low branches spread sideways and fill with glossy leaves. Folded salmon-red flowers appear within the leafy crown, preserving the shrub’s natural outline.
After flowering, the same broad evergreen structure remains. The exact start and duration of flowering depend on the microclimate.
What to expect after planting: Growth may be restrained through the first season while roots establish. In a suitable position in open ground it reaches approximately 2.5–4m in height and 2.5–4m in spread (maturity 10–20 years). Growth in a pot is usually more restrained and depends on available root space. Season and microclimate determine whether the plant arrives with flowers, buds, fresh growth or a quieter crown.
The story of ‘Blood of China’ begins with an unnamed plant that Henry Stoutz bought from the Industrial Gardeners’ Boys’ Home in 1905 and planted in the family garden at Mobile, Alabama. W. Rubel propagated it at Longview Nursery in 1931; the first plants were sold in 1934 as ‘Lot No. 17’, before the name ‘Blood of China’ was published in 1938.
Meanwhile, the original plant moved to Bellingrath Gardens and was mistakenly associated with the name ‘Victor Emmanuel’ through resemblance to an older Italian camellia. The confusion also reached Kiyono’s 1938–1939 catalogue. That name is not an accepted synonym of ‘Blood of China’; it belongs to the history of the distinct ‘Vittorio Emanuele II’.
The term describes the arrangement of floral organs: petals form loose, irregular folds around a small group of stamens. In ‘Blood of China’, the golden stamens become visible when the flower opens fully, while the form can range from semi-double to loose peony.
Six practical answers covering light, watering, pots, mature size, pruning and seasonal behaviour.
Bright partial shade or gentle morning sun, with shelter from hot midday light, drying winds and sudden changes.
It needs organic, acid to neutral, freely draining soil. In strongly alkaline water or soil, younger leaves may show chlorosis.
Yes, in ericaceous compost and a pot with excellent drainage. Gradual repotting and even moisture matter more than an excessively large pot.
In a suitable position in open ground it reaches approximately 2.5–4m in height and 2.5–4m in spread (maturity 10–20 years). Growth in a pot is usually more restrained and depends on available root space.
Its principal flowering period is late winter to spring. Exact timing depends on microclimate and the maturity of the buds.
Sudden drought, large moisture fluctuations, hot drying air or a move into an unsuitable microclimate can trigger bud drop. Stable conditions are the goal.
