Camellia Forest Nursery

I ordered five trees in November. We get mild winters and I was considering planting them immediately. I spoke with the nursery and they advised that they hold the trees until my last frost date, I appreciated their advice and willingness to hold the trees for several months before shipping to me. They arrived yesterday (April). All five trees were in excellent condition, large for the associated price, and a clear difference between the maturity of the more expensive, larger tree and the smaller less expensive ones. Company is on point and professional, this is what all plant sellers should be like. Highly recommend.

I was thrilled to receive 3 beautiful new camellias. They were well boxed and in superb condition. When I ordered I was able to choose my preferred shipping date. The camellias are doing very well. I am just preparing to place another order from this wonderful supplier.

I ordered 4 camellias from Camellia Forest Nursery; I was alerted that they had been shipped; However, they did not arrive in a timely manner. I received a call from the nursery alerting me to the fact my order had sent but they had not had confirmation it was received so they were resending my order. This was all without my prompting. As it happened, I received the delivery the day after their phone call so I was able to let them know to not resend the shipment. The plants were all in excellent condition. I was really impressed by their proactive customer service!

I ordered the camellia April Remembered. It just arrived and is a large beautiful, full plant. The packaging was superb, so the plant didn't suffer any damage in the shipping.

I am very pleased with my purchase. The plants arrived packaged very carefully. I bought three camellias, in the smallest pots, and my plants arrived looking strong and healthy, and even had flower buds! I didn’t expect flowers the first year. What a wonderful surprise! The roots look to be in great shape, the leaves are healthy, and all three shrubs have a very nice shape. Of all the shrubs I’ve ever bought through mail order, these are easily the healthiest and nicest looking, right out of the box. I highly recommend this company.

Ordered my camellia on Saturday and it arrived in perfect condition Thursday morning. Outstanding packaging, super fast shipping and decent pricing (considering the size). Highly recommend!

I placed my first order in July and set the ship date Sept 15 to avoid the heat. Plants shipped that day and arrived two days later. Very nice plant. Great size for the money. I would definitely order from them again.

Received two plants in excellent shape, well-packed (one was considerably larger than I expected). I also ordered seeds and was pleased to see that they had been pre-stratified, which saves me a lot of time. Would order from them again.

Posted on October 16, 2006, updated April 13, 2017 I have purchased plants from CFN for many years both in person and ordering by mail. Their plants are always of reasonable size and moderate cost and have generally done well in my zone 7 garden. This coming weekend (Oct. 20-22) they will have an open house and I would encourage anyone interested in Camellias and other less common woody plants to pay them a visit.

I've bought a few times from Camellia Forest, and each purchase was seamless. This one was no different. Camellia may be in the name, but I find that they offer more than a few very desirable non-camellia plants. I purchased a Magnolia figo v crassipes 'Purple Queen'. The banana shrub is one of my favorite flowering plants, and although my zone is borderline, I have one that I managed to get through last winter's wrath. This new one is supposed to have purple tinted flowers. I had to have it. While the total cost was high, the rarity would almost demand it. The plant came in very quickly and healthy. It was about 1.25ft and nicely branched. I would estimate the square pot as slightly smaller in volume than a trade gallon. The listed size was 2qt. I was satisfied.

I received two camellias from Camellia Forest this week. I ordered the $27 plants rather than the $16 plants hoping for larger plants. I received two twigs one around 12 inches and the other 14 inches. I live in a state that borders their state. These two plants plus shipping cost me $69. Unless you are looking for something that can't be found anywhere else, I suggest you purchase elsewhere. These plants will take years before they will ever bloom due to their size. I emailed Camellia Forest and expressed my disappointment. They told me they were slow growers...what a rip off!

Posted on June 4, 2014, updated June 4, 2014 I've ordered twice from them and unfortunately both times a combination of drier winter weather, spider mites, and mostly scale killed them. Dave, a real nice guy tried to advise me but it didn't help the plants. The second time I ordered Dave replaced it with a 1 gallon Yule Tide after it died but for me the same results. I mean that's $150 for those 2 camellias but they're generally not container plants maybe? Now I moved to a house with a large picture window and will order again. This time 3 of them. 1 for trying planting outside, even though it's rated zone 7 not zone 6b and 2 as patio and house plants to move back and forth. And this time I am treating with horticulture oil well before autumn in the spring & summer. I bought 2 4' citrus trees from a plant nursery located in the Charlotte, North Carolina metro area that were killed by the same pestilences and I have had this problem only from nurseries delivering out of the North Carolina area so I know it's endemic. So if you order a tree out of a nursery from the North Carolina area that will be potted for a while or a container plant treat that plant with horticulture oil. So the trees were a negative but the help in trying to sort it out a positive. I never heard of horticultural oil so I hope it works. If the I order tank again after treating with horticulture oil I'll have to rewrite my review to say try camellia only as year round outdoor plants.

My plants arrived two days from ordering. They were large, healthy, and had been packed with great care.

I just received a Governor Mouton From Camelia Forest that is covered in some type of fungal leaf spot. I sent them 4 pics at their request, and they admit that there is fungal disease, but they won't replace the plant. I will never buy from them again. So much for their great reputation.They will ship you a diseased plant @ $60 + $15 shipping, and it's your problem.

Great mail order company with a great array of unusual shrubs and trees. Good quality plants.

I ordered and received 7 camellia japonicas just yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised by how well they were packaged for shipping and the size of them exceeded my most hopeful expectations. New foliage on all of them...glossy green and fresh. All of them were labeled carefully so I knew what would be planted where. Besides a copy of my order form and a listing of the contents, an instruction sheet on planting and recommendation on camellia care was enclosed. Before the shipment was made, the company verified that I was ready for planting them as it is rather late in the planting season for camellias in my area....so that's what I call excellent Customer Service. All in all a great experience, my only regret is that I'm running out of yard space or I'd order more...a great value, quality product, very reasonable shipping charge.

I've been gardening for 35 years and ordered many a plant from many a nursery. I have had my share of mix-ups, and always been treated fairly and kindly. But not from these folks. I ordered three camellias from Camellia Forest. I planned my entire new garden around these three expensive specimens. A lovely woman spent a good 45 minutes with me helping me to choose which ones were best for my location, and giving me information on how to amend the soil to ensure the plants did their best. Just at the time to ship, I got a brusque and cavalier message from another woman telling me that they didn't have my plants, and thus were not charging me. No apology, no mention of what happened, no offer to help me choose new plants, or suggestions as to how or when I might be able to get new plants, or perhaps get the same varieties but in a different size or later in the season - nothing. Soviet Union customer service. I called and left a message saying I was flabbergasted to hear that they no longer had the plants I ordered and had not been offered any apology or assistance. I said, like ordering a living room couch, I had really planned the whole garden around these specimens, and that I figured that probably, if they sold couches, and had spent 45 minutes helping me decide which one to buy to be the centerpiece of my living room, they would not have just called and said "oh well, we don't have your couch." I asked them to please call me back and offer me some assistance or at least some information as to what happened. (maybe they had a whole bunch of plants struck down by disease, or maybe they would have more in 2 months - who knew.) I did not raise my voice, curse them, or any other objectionable behavior. I did say I was flabbergasted and completely shocked, and very much hoped to be able to work something out so I could continue with my garden plans. I got a lovely message from a man named David apologizing and telling me to call him to see what we could work out. I was very hopeful. So I did call, and got the initial lovely woman. But this time she was not lovely. She called me names, told me she was just an employee and what did I want her to do, said I "yelled" on the answering machine, and when I said I did not think I had raised my voice at all, said, well maybe I hadn't but that my voice was "shrill". She told me that they were completely out of plants due to a NYT article, but that since I was so "shrill and difficult", I should go elsewhere to get mine anyway; they did not want my business, said she. Completely bizarre. She actually asked me what I hoped to accomplish by talking to her, and I told her the above. (that I had hoped to find a work around, maybe get the same plants in a smaller size, or a different variety, or at least to find out what happened. And to find out if they really were not capable of guaranteeing that if I ordered again my plants would be shipped, because they have a retail store as well, and so maybe they don't tend to hold plants for mail order customers.) You know - to be treated like a human being, or, possibly even a valued customer. No such luck. For wanting to know what happened to my order, objecting to a brusque and cavalier dismissal, and asking for actual customer service, I got name-called and told they were a small company with only three people, they had no more plants, and I should take my business elsewhere. Oh, and the kicker - the caller who was so cavalier, that I thought must have been someone extra they hired to help with the phones during the busy season - apparently she is "one of the original owners," whatever that means. Maybe Mrs. Parks? I can see why they are a small company, and I expect that they will stay a small company, or go out of business, given the worse than zero customer service they provided me. It is sad, because I was really looking forward to those camellias, and I've already bought the soil amendments and had everything ready. And they were so nice when they were trying to sell me the plants. Once they did not have anything to sell me, that changed in a heartbeat. I understand that it is the busy season for them, and they might be stressed, especially if they had a lot of extra sales due to an article in the Times, but these people were unreliable and mercurial to say the least. Don't order from them if you hope to get your plants, and definitely don't plan your entire garden around specimens you think you've ordered from them, because they have absolutely no commitment to ensuring that you receive what you order.

I just received a shipment of beautiful, healthy tea plants, and because the pots were removed I can see these are well rooted. The plants were much larger than you usually get via mail order, and cheaper, too. They were packed very securely, preventing any possible damage. This is what a mail order experience should be like!

I have just received my first order from this nursery. Nice plants! These were grown in trade gallon containers, from which they were removed and packed into plastic bags before shipping. The packaging was quite good and allowed everything to arrive without any damage. Another plus: Camellia Forest provides FedEx tracking information so I was able to track the package online before its arrival. I would definitely order from them again!

I have only ordered from them once, but my plants came in good condition and were well packaged. Will definitely order from them again.

I recently placed my first order with this nursery. I ordered a large variety of plants from them. They have a great exotic and rare selection. The plants were packed very well, healthy. I was missing a plant from my order, I emailed them about it, they took care of it immediately and sent me the plant. Amazing people at an amazing nursery. I will be buying from them again for sure. I highly recommend them.

I originally contacted Camellia Forest with some questions regarding their evergreen Dogwoods. Although I had not ordered from them before, I quickly received a thorough and courteous response to my inquiry. I went ahead and ordered (3) of the Dogwoods and (4) types of camellia seed which I received yesterday morning. I was stunned when I opened the box to find (3) large (about 4'), gorgeous trees with perfectly formed root balls (definitely well- developed but not root bound) and not a single leaf nor any soil was shed during their trip across the country. The seeds arrived in great shape, also - large, plump and still moist (as you would want them to be). This company is fantastic - friendly and knowledgeable customer service, an informative website that makes for fascinating reading, fast shipping, extremely good prices, and healthy plants. Camellia Forest is definitely a top nursery and I would not hesitate to order from them, again.

This is a gem of a nursery with a treasure trove of fine Camellias and rare trees and shrubs. I've been a customer for well over a decade, and Camellia Forest is my first stop when adding plants to my garden.

I have ordered from them for several years and have always been very pleased with the quality of plants received and the personal service.

I love Camellia Forest. This is my go-to website for rare camellias. In the last two years, I ordered from them twice, for a total of about 10 camellias. All of them are still with me, some in the ground and some in containers. I've ordered 1-yr, 2-yr, and 3-yr plants, and all of them were very well-packaged and shipped fast. They were in great quality right out of the box, and during the blooming season, all bloomed, even the 1-year-old specimens (very few flower buds in 1-year plants though but as expected). I highly recommend the camellias from CamForest.com.

I ordered 5 Camellia sasanqua plants on a Wednesday afternoon and requested shipping ASAP. About 2 hours later I received an email that my order had been shipped. I received the plants on Friday. Three of the five had buds and two of those were already blooming. Packing was perfect and one of the plants actually looked to be a size larger than I had ordered. Couldn't have been happier. I just wish I had room in the yard for more of their camellias.

This is an excellent nursery. Great service. I had 2 questions and they emailed answers immediately. The plant is very healthy and large, it was packed well and they sent it exactly on the date I requested. I would highly recommend them and I will definitely order from them again.

The plants are beautiful and packed perfectly. The camellia selection, of course, is outstanding, but they also have a lot of other unique shrubs and trees that shouldn't be overlooked. I have nothing but praise for them. I grow camellias in a cooler climate, and they were also prompt with good advice as to the types of camellia that would survive zone 6b weather, and suggested planting in the spring so as to give them plenty of time to establish themselves before the cold weather.

I ordered a Camellia japonica "Korean Fire," which I've been lusting after but have had trouble finding locally. I ordered a three-year plant, in spite of what was a steep price for me (if I recall correctly, I could have purchased a one-year shrub, but I'm both cheap AND impatient). When the plant arrived, I couldn't believe my eyes: it was an impressive size and in *perfect* condition out of the box. It would not have looked better had I brought it home from my local nursery (which I couldn't, because they couldn't get it for me!). I emailed a photo of the shrub, fresh out of the box, to a friend of mine who has ordered lots of plants through the mail. He wrote back, "You did NOT get that mail order! It's too beautiful!" My camellia has been in the ground for several weeks now and appears to have suffered exactly zero transplant shock. I also ordered and received a gorgeous gardenia covered in buds--that my puppy promptly ate (sigh). Can't blame anyone but myself for that. I heartily recommend this grower.

Posted on May 5, 2009, updated March 10, 2012 Placed an order yesterday, so far their shipping is prompt and the customer service is wonderful. Can't wait till the plants arrive!

Placed a small order in February 2012. Plants were promptly shipped, boxing was good and plants arrived in good condition. I was also able to track the shipment online. Overall quality and size were good for the price paid. This was my first time ordering from them. Based on this experience, I would feel comfortable ordering more from them in the future.

I ordered three camellia this spring -- one Katie Supreme and two Autumn Moon. All three arrived in beautiful condition. My neighbor commented on how healthy the plants looked. All were very carefully packed. Excellent all the way around. A++++++++++

Plants arrived when requested. Plants arrived in fabulous condition, well rooted, hydrated, and incredibly well packed. I live in the northern limit of camellia range, zone 6a. It has been -13 F in weather history, January 2009, one of those times. I know now that Camforest is the source of my older camellias that I did not buy from them directly. Survivor has been the most profuse so far, despite the small blooms. But I have so many buds on my new Snow Flurry, it looks like I have a new winner. My -5 F older plants have had mixed results, spring blooming buds lost, one plant, April Tryst, dying all the way back to the ground, the last two years. But Camforest has an ample selection of -10 and -15 F hardy plants. Having added some to my collection, I look forward to a better display. My plants are located with an eastern exposure, under a hickory tree, not an evergreen as recommended. I have read that is wrong, that morning sun in the winter is bad for the plants. I use burlap to protect the young plants in winter, and then take my chances as they age. So no more April Tryst, and Spring Promise has never bloomed. But April Remembered, beautiful. Even Nuncio's Pearl, not from Camforest, blooms extensively. Killing frost is my worst difficulty, dropping open blooms. That -13 F dropped closed buds. So I will be back to report how much better Camforest's plants do than the older ones.

Posted on March 23, 2008, updated May 23, 2010 I ordered 7 camellias and some seeds. Everything was shipped quickly, the packaging was excellent and the plants look great. Six of the camellias are taller than the 10-12 inches the catalogue describes, (the seventh one being a dwarf camellia), with good size rootballs and in perfect condition. I was supposed to get 5 seeds per variety and I was pleasantly surprised with 6-8 per package. I couldn't be happier with the whole experience, now if I only had more room to add more camellias...I would most definitely order it from them.

I ordered a few kinds of camellia (including tea) seeds a couple of months ago. The seeds arrived in great shape, and now I have several nice seedlings growing. Its not easy to find camellia seeds, and even harder to find seeds that have been stored properly before shipping (they will dry out and die if stored improperly for too long). Great products, service, and germination, what's not to like!

Although I have yet to find a permanent planting place for the plants I ordered earlier in year (I can be a compulsive plant fanatic sometimes), the quality of plant material that arrived at my door was superb! The combination of neatly & caringly packaged plants as well as friendly & quick customer service rates this plant nursery at the top of my list for quality and selection! Camellia Forest Nursery offers an extensive collection of hard-to-find plants--particularly winter-interest plants--at fair prices. I look forward to dealing with this company again in the future.

I bought a Prunus mume 'Okitsu Akabana' back in 2008 from Camellia Forest. They have a wonderful selection of reasonably priced Asian trees and shrubs (and an unparalleled selection of camellias) and I was delighted to find Prunus mume, which can be difficult to locate. The tree arrived pruned to 3' tall and has now doubled in height. It flowered the second season after planting- fragrant, gorgeous gigantic flowers. I called the company and Dave and his mother were very helpful answering my questions. I'm very satisfied with my purchase and wouldn't hesitate to buy from CF again.

I ordered two camellias and a number of camellia seeds from Camellia Forest. The plants were in perfect condition in spite of the distance - they were very well packaged and vigorous, healthy plants. Can't wait to see how they perform in the garden. Instructions for cultivation of both plants and seeds were included.

I have ordered 22 different Magnolias from Camillia Forest Nursery,.All the plants arrived in excellent condition . They're very nice, helpful,we had good comunication and I will definitely order from them again .thanks Martine Hessa

Over the years I've purchased trees, shrubs and camellias from Camellia Forest. Every purchase has been gratifying. The owners are friendly and kind and always offer a sophisticated and varied group of interesting plants in addition to camellias. Prices are a little steep, but not excessive considering the quality of the plant material and it's uniqueness. I've never been unhappy with one transaction. It's always a pleasant experience to visit Camellia Forest: the owners are like old friends.

I ordered 4 camellias and was astonished at how quickly they arrived (in 2 days!). The plants were lovely and lush, and best of all there were no plastic pots. I hate all the non-recyclable pots I end up with at the end of the season, so this was a truly pleasant surprise. I have a few fall blooming camellias I purchased from Camellia Forest several years ago, and while they took a long time to settle in and bloom, they have developed in to real show stoppers in the fall garden.

I have ordered camellias from Camellia Forest Nursery for over 20 years. The plants that I planted at my parent's old house are still going strong (camellias are really tough plants once they get established). Camellia Forest is the best in terms of variety and quality. They also have a number of very unusual non-camellia trees and shrubs (e.g., Emmenopterys henryi) that I haven't seen anywhere else. Thanks Camellia Forest!

I received my 'Kagirohi’ Camellia and it was very healthy and over 4' tall. I was very happy with this high quality camellia and would recommend 'Camellia Forest Nursery' to anyone!

I ordered a 3 yr old Autumn Spirit Cold Hardy camellia on May 6th. I grew up in the Camellia belt, but now live further north. I had some questions about the differences in care for the north vs. south and David Parks was kind enough to swap several emails with me loaded with information and the answers to all my questions. He helped me choose the "right" camellia and planting spot for my zone. The Camellia arrived in beautiful condition (not one lost leaf or broken twig). These folks really know how to pack a plant for shipment!!! It's been in the ground a little over a month and is doing beautifully. It has lots of new growth and I can't wait to see it bloom. Now I just have to figure out if I have room for MORE!!!

I ordered five camellia plants from Camellia Forest Nursery which I'm very pleased with. Excellent packaging and prompt shipment.

Excellent, healthy plants! All three little leaf tea camellias I ordered were received in perfect condition, and I was very pleased by the size; I ordered two-year plants, but they are much bigger than I expected. Packaging was also excellent, the rootballs were still moist and no leaves were lost from shipping stress. Overall, a great experience.

remarkably good packing and packaging. the plants arrived in superb health. within a couple of weeks they are already sending up new leaves. i am very pleased with the quality of their plants and how carefully and inventively they packaged them.

Truly excellent trees and shrubs and friendly service make this a top notch nursery. I've both mail ordered and visited in person, and have been impressed each time. Some of the trees I've purchased, such as cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold' and aesculus x splendens (hybrid red buckeye), are tough to find plants that can be eye-poppingly priced. But not only did I find them, they were very reasonably priced at $20 and $10, respectively, and had huge healthy root systems. Both of these--and the dozen or so other shrubs and trees I've purchased from Camellia Forest--are thriving in my garden. If you're looking for healthy and tough-to-find plants at reasonable prices, you can't go wrong with this company.

I ordered a 3-year-old Camellia 'Survivor' this spring. The plant they shipped me was of excellent size and condition and has grown vigorously all season. It now has 20+ lovely blooms--I'm extremely happy with Camellia Forest Nursery!

Two years ago, I purchased four camellias from Camellia Forests (about $200 total, in 3-gallon and 5-gallon sizes). The camellias have been spectacular - blooming their first year, the second year (except for the one that the deer nibbled on), and they're preparing for a winter display again. (My favorite is the "Black Tie" variety - large, perfect, deep red flowers; like a perfect rose or a perfect dahlia.) I'm very pleased; visitors are always impressed. Camellia Forests has an amazing selection of beautiful plants, in all sizes. In my opinion, it's the *one* place to shop for camellias.