Stephanie Golden Camellia (Camellia sasanqua Stephanie Golden)

Stephanie Golden Camellia (Camellia sasanqua ‘Stephanie Golden’ ) is a little deceptively named. You’d think a flower with the word ‘golden’ in its name was yellow, right? Stephanie Golden is actually 18 petals of the most gorgeous shade of fuchsia available in a Camellia – with a petite pot of canary yellow stamens right in the center for effect!

Of course, that doesn’t mean that this still isn’t a golden addition to your garden! The famously huge, frilly blooms bust out all over this shrub in fall and winter when just about everything else in the garden is asleep. The flowers stand in stark contrast to the deep-green broad-leaf evergreen leaves that remain on the shrub year-round.

The blossoms make great cut flowers and are always wonderful additions to holiday decorations. Cut branches with greenery for vases or float several blooms in a low bowl for a centerpiece. Plus beneficial pollinators, bees, and butterflies will appreciate the vital late-season nectar and pollen resource that Stephanie Golden provides throughout USDA growing zones 7 to 10!

Planting and Application:

Use Stephanie Golden as a foundation shrub where it won’t block your windows, but you’ll still appreciate the view! These year-round evergreen shrubs are the perfect specimen, and anchors to soften your hardscapes or as backdrops to your other garden beds!

The evergreen foliage provides year-round privacy or as a flowering hedge to draw the eye along the garden! Create outdoor garden rooms and property definition that screens out the nosy neighbors or hides eyesores with beautiful flouncy blossoms!

Use them singly as a natural sculpture by your entry, on a front yard berm, or as a focal point in an Asian-inspired garden! For balcony or condo living, and in small urban courtyards, this smaller Camellia can be kept as the perfect container plant!

• Beautiful Double Hot Pink Flowers in the Winter
• Perfectly Sized for Modern Gardens
• Pollinator Friendly & Cut Flower Bouquets
• Unique Weeping Broad-Leaf Evergreen Foliage
• Great in Containers, Borders & Flower Beds, Backdrops & Specimens

Tips for Care:

Camellia works in partial sun or dappled shade, even appreciating sun in the morning and protection from the afternoon sun. Camellias are adapted to many soil types but prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5 to 6.5. Choose a location that drains well. Amend the soil with a few handfuls of acidic pine needles to maintain the acidity.

Fertilize twice a year with Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Premium and Organic Fertilizer in the late winter and early summer. For container growing choose a potting mix recommended for Azaleas, Camellias, and Rhododendrons. Because it is so adapted to container growing, Stephanie Golden can be brought indoors for the winter in growing zones 6 and under, then brought outside as a seasonal patio accent!

Shallow-rooted plants, Camellias appreciate mulched beds to protect their roots from heat and drying out. Spread a 3 to 4-inch layer of mulch to keep the roots cool and the surface moisture consistent. Apply the mulch all the way out to 3 feet away from the plant’s trunk.

Camellias should be pruned to maintain size, shape, and air circulation inside the canopy, but it is best done right after the flower. Prune out interior dead limbs and twiggy growth after flowering in early spring, or prune to shape at any time during the year.

• Grow in Part Shade or Afternoon Shade
• Easy to Grow in Acidic, Well-Drained Soils
• Displays Drought Tolerance Once Established
• Prune After Flowering
• Low Maintenance & Widely Adapted

Camellias are easy to grow in their zone and will give decades of floral goodness. These queens of the southern garden deserve a place in yours