If you live in the Tallahassee area you no doubt know camellias are those pretty flowers in the winter time and you’re probably familiar with your 2 or 3 favorite kinds, but did you know there are not just a few types but literally thousands of unique camellia varieties? Each variety or “cultivar” has its own name and is different from all other camellia cultivars. When choosing camellias we gardeners are normally so transfixed by the beauty of the blooms we overlook a very important attribute, blooming season.

Most varieties bloom for 8-10 weeks from start to finish (some even longer) but each variety starts blooming at a different time of year. In the Florida Panhandle our very first camellia flowers tend to show their colors in September and the last ones can make it all the way till April. The weather each year will slide exact start and end times for each variety but the sequence of which ones are earliest and latest is mostly set. By choosing your camellias carefully with a mix of early, middle, and late blooming varieties you can enjoy these classic southern beauties for more than half the year!