So I was rummaging around the forum and noticed that camellias are being discussed in the deciduous section. Am I the only one who thought camellias were evergreen? Maybe it's just me mixing things up. Anyway, on the topic of potting soil for these beauties, I had a bit of a journey finding the right mix. My first attempt was a disaster because I used regular garden soil, which was way too dense and poorly draining. My camellia looked sad, leaves drooping and turning yellow within a few weeks.

After some reading and trial and error, I switched to an acidic mix. Turns out, camellias are pretty particular about that. I bought a bag of azalea/camellia potting mix from a local garden center. It's got a nice blend of pine bark, perlite, and peat moss, which seems to keep the roots happy. I also throw in a bit of garden lime every spring to balance the acidity.

The change was like night and day. My camellia, a 'Yuletide', started perking up and even managed to produce a few flowers over the winter. It’s May now, and I’m hoping to see even more blooms. If anyone else got tips on keeping camellias thriving or if I’m completely bonkers about the evergreen thing, would love to hear.