Our camelias look incredible this year! They are chock full of beautiful red blooms.

DC is technically a bit too north for camelias (the National Arboretum lost a good part of the collection in one of our harsher winters). But there have always been zone 8 microclimates where they have done well, and as the whole area warms and creeps toward zone 8, and when we have a Zone 8-9 feeling winter like this one, the camelias do particularly well. The cultivars that are hardy to our zone 7 (and even some zone 6 now), survive a zone 7 winter, but will perform best when it is more mild like this year.

My mom claims so. She’s lived in DC most of her life.

I have a camellia that is as big as my house and it exploded last week. So beautiful! Every dog walker who passes stops to take a picture.

Anonymous wrote:I think I noticed them looking nicer this year too. But, I don't think even in a good year camelias do that well in DC. They always seem to get brown as soon as they blossom. I think it's the humidity - they do better in a temperate dry climate, like California.

I don’t know. Camellias do really well in Norfolk, and that area also has a lot of humidity.

They have been spectacular this year! There are some unbelievably gorgeous red ones that are 8’ tall and wide of perfection all over Bethesda. The china pink ones pretty too

I think I noticed them looking nicer this year too. But, I don't think even in a good year camelias do that well in DC. They always seem to get brown as soon as they blossom. I think it's the humidity - they do better in a temperate dry climate, like California.

I have lived in our neighborhood for 15 years, and there were mature plantings right from the start. The camellias seem to be jumping out at me everywhere and look especially lovely this year. I'm tempted to plant a couple now.