Camellia azalea, also known as Azalea Tea, Four Seasons Tea, Four Seasons Azalea Red Camellia, or “Fake Big Head Tea”, is a unique species that combines the floral characteristics of camellias with the foliage of azaleas. This rare and endangered plant has earned the moniker “panda of the plant world” due to its scarcity and conservation status.
Native to China and classified as a national first-class protected plant, Camellia azalea has recently garnered significant attention in the botanical community, particularly with its blooming displays in the Shanghai Botanical Garden. Its extremely limited distribution, primarily in the Yangchun region of Guangdong Province, coupled with its high ornamental value, has made it a subject of both scientific interest and conservation concern.
Camellia azalea is endemic to China, with its natural habitat restricted to a small area along the banks of the Honghua Tan Creek in the Hewei Forest Farm of the Goose Phoenix Ridge Nature Reserve, Yangchun City, Guangdong Province. While some sources suggest a broader distribution including Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan provinces, the core population remains in Guangdong.
The species was discovered in the 1980s in the Goose Phoenix Ridge area. However, due to its rarity and desirability in the horticultural trade, Camellia azalea fell victim to extensive poaching, bringing it to the brink of extinction in the wild. This critical situation has prompted intensive conservation efforts to protect and propagate the remaining specimens.
Camellia azalea is an evergreen shrub with the following distinctive features:
One of the most remarkable features of Camellia azalea is its ability to bloom multiple times throughout the year, earning it the name “Four Seasons Tea.” This continuous flowering habit, combined with its attractive foliage and compact growth, makes it highly prized in horticulture.
Camellia azalea lives along streams in dense forests with sparse population. The average annual temperature of its growth area is 22.1℃, the highest temperature is 38.4℃, the lowest temperature is -1.8℃, the average temperature in July is 28.2℃, and the average temperature in January is 14.3℃.
The annual sunshine hours are 1200 hours, and the frost-free period is 350 days. The average annual rainfall is 3428.9mm, and the relative humidity is 85%. The soil is derived from granite and red soil, with a soil pH of 5.5-6.
Azalea Red Camellia is generally distributed in the understory of the forest canopy, at an altitude of 217~237 meters. Its plant community is dominated by pan-tropical components, with obvious characteristics of the northern margin of the tropics.
It prefers a warm, humid, and semi-shady environment, has strong shade tolerance, is slightly cold-tolerant, and likes deep, fertile, humus-rich acidic soil.
Nanyue Hongxia: The flower diameter is 1213 cm, the flower is bright red and has a velvet sheen. There are 710 petals, which are round and thick, flat and straight. The anthers are golden, and the filaments are light pink.
The blooming period is from June to December, and it can bloom all year round in warm regions. This is a variant of Red Camellia bred by the Guangdong Palm Valley Camellia Garden.
Hongxing Mingyue: The flower diameter is 811 cm, the flower is bright red with a velvet sheen. There are 57 petals, which are long and bar-shaped, almost flatly laid, occasionally pentagonal.
The anthers are golden, and the filaments are light pink. The blooming period is from June to December, and it can bloom all year round in warm regions. This is a variant of Red Camellia bred by the Guangdong Palm Valley Camellia Garden.
Dujuan Baozhu: It has a torch-shaped form. The flowers are red, the outer wheel is made of large petals, and the stamens in the flower heart have almost all turned into small petals, forming a ball-shaped protrusion.
Hua Dujuan Cha: The flower diameter is 6~10 cm, it is a variant of Azalea Red Camellia grafted onto Red Dew Pearl as a rootstock.
The flowers are peach-red, the petals have white patches, and there are 59 petals, each 4.58 cm long. The flowering period is from summer to winter, and sometimes it blooms all year round.
Choose a warm and humid environment, well-drained, loose and fertile sandy loam, loam, or humus soil. The optimal pH value is 5.5～6.5.
When preparing the land, deep ploughing is required, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied, and the high beds should be made about 120 cm wide.
Use light loam soil, that is, ash slag, alum fertilizer water, and three-in-one soil. Fill the bottom of the pot with 3 cm thick fine ash slag, then add a suitable amount of pot soil, occupying 1/3 of the pot volume, add more water, after the water seeps, plant the camellia seedling with soil into the pot. Generally, the pot soil is changed once a year.
After cuttings, erect a 50cm high rack and use a sunshade net for shading. Control the frequency of watering weekly, maintaining the temperature between 20~28℃.
Ensure humidity is kept between 75%~95%, this will accelerate internal cell division, allowing for the early sprouting of new roots.
After the cutting has taken root, apply 0.5g/L of foliar fertilizer every 7~10 days. Once budding occurs, uncover the shade in the morning, evening or on cloudy days, gradually increasing light exposure. Timely fertilize and prevent pest and disease infestations.
Grafted plants must have their humidity appropriately adjusted. Too dry or too wet conditions are unfavorable for wound healing tissue formation.
Constantly check the plastic bag, ensuring it does not come in contact with the graft, preventing water on the bag from flowing to the graft joint.
Around 40~50 days, once the graft starts budding, remove the plastic bag, removing buds sprouting on the rootstock to prevent interference with graft growth.
Timely removal is key, as any sprouting should be removed immediately. Once the healing tissue wraps the graft and rootstock, remove the binding string.
Post-grafting management includes erecting sunshade nets to prevent direct sunlight. Water every 2-3 days to avoid waterlogging. Apply decomposed organic fertilizer once in September and then again 15 days later.
From October to November, the grafted plants will sprout a second time. After sprouting, timely apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizer to promote woodiness in the branches and prevent frost damage in winter.
Subsequently, apply decomposed organic fertilizer every 20 days in spring and autumn.
In the second spring, appropriate pruning can be carried out, mainly pruning branches without offshoots and overly rapid growing branches to maintain a full plant shape. Some grafted seedlings will bloom in June, you can remove some flowers to promote nutritional growth.
After propagating Camellia azalea through cuttings, it is crucial to maintain soil moisture and timely fertilize, but over-fertilization should be avoided. During management, alternate between fertilizer and water when watering plants.
Start watering in spring, gradually increase the frequency, decrease in August and stop watering in September. The principle of watering is to alternate between dry and wet periods.
Avoid heavy pruning during trimming, removing some weak and overly dense branches is enough. Camellia azalea is a multiple-flowering species, thinning of the buds should be performed during bud formation.
Choose a warm, moist environment with well-drained, loose, and fertile sandy loam soil. The optimum soil pH value is between 5.5 and 6.5.
During field preparation, deep plowing is required, apply enough base fertilizer, and build approximately 120cm wide raised beds to prevent root rot from waterlogging.
When potting, a mixture of peat soil and river sand in a 1:1 ratio is ideal. Try to keep the root system intact during transplantation to prevent wilting. Change the pot soil once a year. During cultivation, control watering to 5~7 times a week, and apply fertilizer once a month.
To make the plant shape attractive, appropriate pruning can be performed, but heavy pruning should be avoided, cut off some weak and overly dense branches.
Camellia azalea has many buds, to make the flowers large and bright, thinning of the buds should be performed during bud formation.
Camellia azaleas generally exhibit robust resistance to diseases and pests, particularly when cultivated in large quantities. However, occasional issues may arise, including leaf spot disease, anthracnose, leaf curlers, scale insects, aphids, and spider mites. Proper management and timely intervention are crucial for maintaining plant health.
Leaf Spot Disease: This fungal infection primarily affects the foliage, causing infected leaves to drop prematurely. It thrives in hot, humid environments with poor air circulation.
Prevention and Treatment:
Anthracnose: This fungal disease affects leaves, twigs, fruits, and buds, causing spotting primarily on leaf tips and edges. It can lead to defoliation and blossom drop.
Prevention and Treatment:
Root Rot: While less common in Camellia azaleas, root rot can occur in poorly drained soils.
Prevention and Treatment:
Leaf Curlers (Leaf-rolling moths): The larvae feed on new growth, severely impacting plant development and flowering.
Control Methods:
Scale Insects: These pests typically inhabit poorly ventilated areas, causing branch and leaf deterioration.
Control Methods:
Aphids: These insects cluster on new growth, causing leaf distortion and potential defoliation.
Control Methods:
Spider Mites: These tiny arachnids can cause significant damage, particularly during warm, dry periods.
Control Methods:
Ground Beetles and Mole Crickets: While less common, these pests can damage roots and young plants.
Control Method:
The Azalea Red Camellia (Camellia azalea) is a highly prized woody flowering species, renowned for its ornamental value. Its large, vibrant blossoms, distinctive foliage, and attractive growth habit have garnered significant interest from landscape designers and horticultural researchers alike.
Key Features:
Potential Applications:
Historical and Cultural Significance:
The Azalea Red Camellia, while named for its resemblance to azaleas, belongs to the Camellia genus. Camellias have long been revered in many cultures, particularly in East Asia, for their beauty and symbolism. Traditional camellias are often associated with refinement and excellence, qualities that the Azalea Red Camellia embodies and potentially surpasses.
The plant’s unique characteristics and adaptability make it a valuable addition to the horticultural world, offering exciting possibilities for both ornamental and commercial applications.
As research continues, the Azalea Red Camellia may reveal further potential in areas such as breeding programs for developing new cultivars with enhanced traits or even exploration of possible medicinal properties, as some other Camellia species have demonstrated.
Peggie was once a high school mathematics teacher, but she set aside her chalkboard and textbooks to follow her lifelong passion for flowers. After years of dedication and learning, she not only established a thriving flower shop but also founded this blog, “Flowers Library”. If you have any questions or wish to learn more about flowers, feel free to contact Peggie.
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