Can a Camellia be grown as a standard?

I have two large planters that flank my french doors. I am looking to put two large shrubs that I can grow as standards that will be evergreen. I am going to put Ground Orchids in the bottom of the pots around the shrub. These planters are in pretty much full, but somewhat bright shade. If Camellias aren't the answer and you have another idea, I would love to hear it.

I would like it to get 4-6 feet tall. If it weeps some, that would be great. I can't get too wide because the planters are pushed close to the house and the doors.

Thanks.

Yes, they can be grown as standards, I've seen people around here that have camellia standards. Unfortunately since I don't grow camellias I don't have any tips for how to do it, but I do know it is possible. I don't think they'll really weep though.

Thanks for the info. Now that I know it's possible, I just have to figure out how to do it. It doesn't have to weep. I am more concerned with the overall width since I don't want to have fight against a plant's natural tendencies.

How wide is it allowed to get? Camellias can get pretty big, so if we're talking a really narrow area there may be better choices. Obviously if you're training it as a standard it can be kept pruned to a much smaller size than it would be naturally if you grew it as a shrub, but if you're trying to keep it to a foot wide or something like that you may have some difficulty.

I know at the nursery I work at we had some 5-6' Camellias that could easily be trained into a ball on large trunks. The only thing I'd keep in mind is keeping them well watered & regular fertilizer. I'm sure you could find some the right size and then just keep trimming them and removing lower branches.

This message was edited Apr 6, 2008 5:33 PM

Probably looking for a width of 2-3 feet across total. Don't know if that would work or not. Any thoughts?

That's probably about the size of the ones I've seen. I'm not sure how much effort it takes to keep them that size, but if you don't mind maintaining them then I think you can do it.

Basicly camellias come in different sizes. For what your doing you need a small one. Where I live they'll get 30 ft tall. Depends on what you have but most of them are big shrubs. Take a look through here http://www.camforest.com/.

In general the more hybrid it is the smaller it will be. Just something that came to mind.

I'd think a sanguinea would be overall smaller than a japonica and a little easier to work with.

In Houston, even a C. sanguinea would get too big. You would have to do a lot of pruning. With your width and height and evergreen requirement, I would stick with a columnar grower — maybe a Cupressus, Juniperus that can handle bright shade. You may find this Aggie link helpful: http://versa.tamu.edu:8080/Phtm_cgi.exe?search
Here's the home page: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/
I believe that Houston, like Austin, has an urban agent.

Evergreen azaleas might fit the bill. Potted they are slower growers. You can purchase them as standards and they can handle the bright shade. You may be able to find some that are trained as a taller than usual standard. They will eventually get large and the pruning required to keep them down to size will leave them looking rather ratty for periods of time, but if you have a place in your garden, you can plant them in the garden and start over with smaller ones.

Thanks for the info and suggestions. Definitely don't want anything that requires constant attention to keep it under control. Hadn't thought of Azaleas.

I'm not sure how they do there but Fuchsia is also a thought.

Hmmm I like the Fuchsia suggestion.

You would have to choose a camellia with a weeping habit (obviously) like Lady Clare. It responds well to pruning. Holly would be good too especially the variegated type.