Camellia sasanqua ‘Maiden’s Blush’
Sasanqua Camellia, Sazanka
Camellia sasanqua is a gorgeous evergreen flowering shrub, featuring attractive glossy dark green foliage, suitable for a wide range of garden styles. They grow best in sheltered part-shade and moist well-drained soil – or in a large container with ericaceous compost.
The ‘Maiden’s Blush’ is a long flowering semi-double Camellia cultivar. The glossy evergreen foliage of this compact spreading shrub gives year-round appeal and in late autumn to mid-winter produces pleasingly peachy pale-pink ‘blushing’ flowers.
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Plant Biography
‘Maiden’s Blush’ is a cultivar of the Chinese and Japanese native Camellia sasanqua, which can be found growing wild on sites up to 900 metres above sea level. In Japan this species is called Sazanka, and Japanese horticulturalists have been breeding cultivars since at least the early Edo period (17th Century).
As well as its beautiful ornamental value, it is also cultivated there as a tea leaf and to produce tea seed oil from the seeds – an important product used in a range of goods from cosmetics to lighting.
In the 19th Century Captain Richard Rawes from the British East India Company took a C. sasanqua variety from China back to relatives in Kent. Subsequently, Dutch colonialists brought specimens to mainland Europe, and eventually the species and its many cultivars became very popular in western horticulture.
Expert Tip
Popular With Gardeners And Pollinators
‘Maiden’s Blush’ has an open flower centre, with a central crown of yellow stamens that makes an excellent source of Autumn sustenance for tough pollinators braving the onset of colder weather.
Camellia sasanqua and its cultivars are distinguished from Camellia japonica by their smaller leaves and tighter growth habit, making them a more popular choice for hedging effects.
They also generally begin flowering earlier: ‘Maiden’s Blush’ is reported to begin in October in some gardens, often producing several flushes into December or even January. Whilst C. japonica is never scented, like many sasanquas, ‘Maiden’s Blush’ has a subtle, delightful fragrance.
Care & Size Guidance
Camellias are all acid loving plants, so if you want to improve the planting area it is worth considering getting some ericaceous compost or slow release ericaceous fertiliser.
This is a good choice for a container specimen, as it is slow growing, we advise you to select a large pot or be prepared to plant it out eventually as the plant can potentially reach a final height of 4 metres tall.
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