The Fragrance Of Camellias: A Sensory Exploration

Camellias are highly desirable plants, cherished for their magnificent flowers and evergreen foliage. Blooming from fall to spring, they are a gardener's delight. But do these beautiful blooms have a fragrance?

Well, it turns out that while most camellia blooms bear no scent, there are indeed some fragrant varieties to be found. In fact, several cultivars claim to have a fragrance, and some are said to smell like old-fashioned roses, peonies, or jasmine. These scented camellias can be a rare find and a delightful addition to any garden.

The most fragrant camellias

While most camellia flowers bear no scent, there are several fragrant species and hybrids to choose from. Here is a list of some of the most fragrant camellias:

Cinnamon Cindy

A fragrant and vigorous evergreen shrub, the Cinnamon Cindy has small, white peony-form flowers with pink tinges on the petals and pure white petaloids at the centre. Blooming over a long period, these flowers offer a pleasing cinnamon fragrance. The lush foliage is glossy and serrated, providing an attractive backdrop to the blooms.

Fragrant Pink

The Fragrant Pink is a vigorous, fragrant evergreen shrub with miniature, peony-form flowers in cheerful pink. The flowers have 10 petals, 12 petaloids, and golden-yellow anthers. Blooming in successive flushes over a long period, they emit a delightful fragrance reminiscent of sweet osmanthus. The glossy, deeply serrated light green leaves provide an attractive contrast to the blooms.

Minato-No-Akebono

The Minato-No-Akebono is a delightfully fragrant evergreen shrub with miniature, single flowers in shell pink. The flowers feature a prominent cluster of golden stamens at their centre. Blooming profusely along elegantly arching branches, they emit a rich fragrance. The glossy, dark green leaves provide a beautiful contrast to the blooms.

Scentuous

A fragrant and radiant evergreen shrub, the Scentuous has small, semi-double to loose peony-form flowers resembling apple blossoms. The 3-inch (7 cm) wide blooms exhibit pure white petals with a delicate pink flush on the outside. The abundant flowers gracefully adorn the slender branches over a long period, and the lush, glossy, light green foliage adds to the shrub's year-round beauty.

Spring Mist

The Spring Mist is a fragrant and vigorous evergreen shrub with charming, small, semi-double flowers in blush pink, gradually fading to white at the edges. The golden anthers and creamy filaments add to their allure. Blooming profusely along slender branches, the elegant flowers grace the garden with their delightful fragrance, which complements the glossy, green foliage, emerging with hints of bronze and copper.

Sweet Emily Kate

The Sweet Emily Kate is a sweetly fragrant evergreen shrub adorned with small flowers in blush pink, shading to a delicate hue at the centre. The peony form of the blooms combines raised petals and petaloids, creating an elegant display. Blooming from mid to late season, the exquisite flowers bring beauty to the garden for an extended period. The luxuriant, glossy dark green foliage adds to its year-round appeal.

Kramer's Supreme

Kramer's Supreme is a delightfully fragrant and vigorous, award-winning camellia with large, brilliant red, peony-form blossoms. Opening to reveal a dazzling array of golden stamens, these sweetly scented flowers are about 5 inches wide and heavily petaled. This camellia is a beautiful and unique privacy screen that requires little to no maintenance once established.

Scentsation

With a delightful fragrance and a compact growth habit, the award-winning Scentsation showcases large, silvery-pink, peony-form flowers. Opening to reveal golden stamens, the blooms grace the garden for several months in mid-season, creating a stunning display. The lustrous, glossy dark green foliage remains evergreen, adding ornamental value throughout the year.

Ack-Scent

The Ack-Scent is a hybrid camellia with spicily fragrant, medium-sized, loose peony form, medium to deep pink double blossoms. Bred for its fragrant flowers by Dr William Ackerman in the 1970s, it is still one of the most prized fragrant camellias available. This camellia grows into a dense evergreen shrub with an upright, eventually rounded habit.

Camellias with no scent

Camellias are highly desirable plants, with their lush, evergreen foliage and vibrant blooms. They are also incredibly easy to grow and are very hardy. However, while they may be a feast for the eyes, most camellia blooms do not have a scent.

Camellias are cherished for their magnificent flowers, which bloom for weeks from fall to spring, depending on the climate and variety. They are a gardener's delight, providing a riot of colour and shape when not much else is flowering. But, for the most part, they do not offer any fragrance.

That being said, there are some camellia species that do have a desirable fragrance, although they may lack the size, colour and flower form of their more showy counterparts. These include Camellia dubia, Camellia euphlebia, Camellia forrestii, Camellia fraterna, and Camellia furfuracea, to name a few.

In the early 1960s, efforts were made to incorporate the floral fragrance of the most scented species, Camellia lutchuensis, into commercially acceptable cultivars. Several charming hybrids have been created since then, offering both beautiful blooms and a delightful scent.

Some of the most fragrant camellia varieties include:

• Camellia ‘Cinnamon Cindy’: A fragrant evergreen shrub with clusters of small, white peony-form flowers with pink tinges and a pleasing cinnamon fragrance.
• Camellia ‘Fragrant Pink’: A vigorous evergreen shrub with miniature, peony-form flowers in cheerful pink, emitting a delightful fragrance reminiscent of sweet osmanthus.
• Camellia ‘Minato-No-Akebono’: A delightfully fragrant evergreen shrub with attractive, miniature, single flowers in shell pink, emitting a rich fragrance.
• Camellia ‘Scentuous’: A fragrant evergreen shrub with small, semi-double to loose peony-form flowers resembling apple blossoms. The abundant flowers have a delicate pink flush on the outside and a lush, glossy, light green foliage.
• Camellia ‘Spring Mist’: A fragrant and vigorous evergreen shrub with charming, small, semi-double flowers in blush pink, gradually fading to white at the edges. Their delightful fragrance complements the glossy, green foliage, which emerges with hints of bronze and copper.
• Camellia ‘Sweet Emily Kate’: A sweetly fragrant evergreen shrub adorned with small flowers in blush pink, shading to a delicate hue at the centre. The peony form of the blooms creates an elegant display.
• Camellia japonica ‘Herme’: A vibrant and robust camellia with semi-double, medium-sized flowers in a captivating dark salmon-pink hue. With white borders and delicate streaks of darker pink, the blooms exude fragrance and are adorned with golden stamens.
• Kramer’s Supreme: A high-fragrance camellia with bold red blooms that appear in late winter and hang around into spring. These sweetly scented flowers are about 5 inches wide and heavily petaled.
• Marie Bracey: An exciting winter bloomer with glossy green leaves and bright pink, pleasantly aromatic flowers.
• October Magic Inspiration: A new variety of camellia with magenta and white bicolor double blooms in fall and winter. Their scent is light and sweet, and this camellia is extremely hardy.
• Shishi Gashira: A dwarf camellia with vibrant hot pink semi-double blooms in fall and winter. The scent of these flowers is unique, with hints of spicy and sweet.

How to care for fragrant camellias

While camellias are cherished for their magnificent flowers and evergreen foliage, most camellia species bear no scent. However, several fragrant cultivars exist, such as Camellia 'Cinnamon Cindy', Camellia 'Fragrant Pink', and Camellia japonica 'Kramer's Supreme'. Here is a guide on how to care for these fragrant camellias.

Planting

Camellias generally grow in zones 7 to 10. In zones 8 to 10, you can plant throughout the year as long as the ground is digable, providing plenty of water and shade in summer. Zone 7 should skip winter planting and wait for spring.

Camellias can be grown from seeds or by purchasing a mature plant. Growing camellias from seeds is slow and complicated, but if you're up for the challenge, follow these steps:

• Choose healthy-looking seeds and soak them in water for 12 hours.
• Place the seeds in a plastic bag with sphagnum moss and mist until moist.
• Use high-quality soil or a mix of peat moss and sand, placing the seeds on the mix with their eyes facing down or sideways.
• Cover with soil about 1/2 inch deep, ensuring the soil remains moist.
• It can take one to three months for seeds to germinate, so keep the soil moist and provide partial light, avoiding direct sunlight.

If you choose to purchase a mature camellia, look for plants with vibrant, glossy foliage, sturdy stems, and a white/light-coloured and firm root system. It is recommended to buy from reputable nurseries or garden centres to ensure the quality and health of the plant.

Care

Most camellias prefer part sun or part shade and fertile, moist, acidic soil. Avoid full sun, especially in warm climates, as camellias are sensitive to intense sunlight and can experience sunburn. Water camellias deeply 2 to 3 times per week when newly planted, and after 2 to 3 months, they will be drought-tolerant.

Fertilise camellias in early spring before new growth, and prune them after flowering to avoid removing next year's flower buds. Camellias are generally tough, adaptable, and deer-resistant, requiring little care once established.

Where to plant fragrant camellias

While most camellias do not have a fragrance, there are a number of fragrant species and hybrids to choose from. These include:

• Kramer's Supreme
• Scentsation
• Spring Sonnet
• Cinnamon Cindy
• Fragrant Pink
• Scentuous
• Spring Mist
• Sweet Emily Kate
• High Fragrance
• Marie Bracey
• October Magic Inspiration
• Shishi Gashira

When deciding where to plant fragrant camellias, it is important to consider the climate, sunlight exposure, and size of the plant. Most camellias grow well in zones 7 to 10, with zone 7 skipping winter planting. They prefer partial sun or partial shade and fertile, moist, acidic soil. Avoid full sun, especially in warm climates, as this can cause sunburn.

For example, the High Fragrance Camellia is a shrub that grows up to 5-8 feet tall and wide and has an upright growth habit. It is best to plant this camellia with about 4 feet of space between each shrub. This camellia is best suited for growing zones 7-10 and prefers partial sun or shade. Therefore, a good location for this particular camellia would be an area with morning sun and afternoon shade.

Another example is the October Magic Inspiration Camellia, which is a new series of camellias with magenta and white bicolor double blooms. This camellia is extremely hardy and can tolerate sun, shade, drought, heat, and salt, in addition to being disease and deer-damage resistant. This camellia grows well in zones 7-9 and can tolerate full sun to partial shade. As such, this camellia would do well in a location that receives full sun for part of the day and partial shade for the rest.

In general, when deciding where to plant fragrant camellias, choose a location that receives the appropriate amount of sunlight for the specific variety and provides enough space for the plant to reach its mature size.

Other uses of camellia

The camellia flower is not only used for its fragrance and beauty but also for its medicinal and health properties. Here are some of its other uses:

Medicinal and Health Benefits

Camellia sinensis, also known as the tea plant, has been used for centuries in traditional medicines. It is widely consumed as a herbal tea, and its leaves can be distilled into an oil. Camellia oil is very high in a chemical called eugenol, which has many health benefits. Here are some of the health benefits of camellia:

• Anti-inflammatory properties: Camellia oil has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, which can help with inflammatory diseases like arthritis.
• Improves skin health: Camellia oil has been used in cosmetics due to its positive effects on skin health and appearance. The antioxidant properties of its compounds may protect the skin from damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. It may also help reduce wrinkles, increase skin elasticity, and improve skin hydration.
• Improves heart health: Camellia oil may help improve heart health by lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, as well as preventing plaque buildup in blood vessels.
• Boosts the immune system: The compounds L-theanine and EGCG in camellia oil may help boost the immune system and fight infections and viruses.
• Reduces stress and anxiety: L-theanine, a compound found in camellia oil, has been shown to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety by increasing levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain.
• Aids in weight loss: The compounds EGCG and caffeine in camellia oil may help increase weight loss by inhibiting the absorption and digestion of carbohydrates and fats.
• Improves liver health: The compounds catechin and L-theanine in camellia oil may help protect the liver by decreasing inflammation and reducing liver enzymes that can lead to disease.
• Anticancer properties: Camellia oil has been studied for its potential anticancer properties, particularly in inhibiting the growth and spread of cancer cells and inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancerous cells.
• Antimicrobial and antiviral properties: Camellia oil has been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties, making it effective against certain types of bacteria and viruses.
• Improves gastrointestinal health: Camellia oil has been shown to have a gastro-protective effect and may help improve gastrointestinal health.
• Neuroprotective properties: Camellia oil has been found to have neuroprotective effects, which may help protect against neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
• Improves bone health: Studies have shown that camellia oil may help regulate bone metabolism and reduce bone loss.

Other Uses

In addition to its medicinal and health benefits, camellia oil also has a variety of other uses, including:

• Culinary uses: Camellia oil can be used as a cooking oil and is often used in stir-fries and other Asian dishes. It has a high smoke point, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking.
• Skin and hair care: Camellia oil is often used in skincare and hair care products due to its moisturizing and nourishing properties. It can help improve skin hydration and elasticity and promote healthy hair growth.
• Woodworking: Camellia oil is also used in woodworking as a natural finish for wooden utensils and cutting boards. It penetrates the wood, creating a protective barrier that helps prevent cracking and drying.

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