Camellias For Mulch

[kevinkimers]

When creating you garden next season, here is an idea that I thought was great. Grow Camellias sporadically throughout your garden. During the season you will have beautiful flowers coloring your landscape. When the fall comes the petals fall leaving a colorful mulch for your garden. This suggestion was made by Special To The Mississippi Press in Gulf Live.

If you are fortunate enough to have camellias in your landscape, you get a double treat. The flowers, of course, are the main show from late fall to early spring, but if you're patient and lucky, you get another colorful treat. As the flower petals fall, they create a vibrant mulch from pure white to rosy pinks and bright reds, depending on the variety.

He also makes the suggestion of bald cypress trees.

Southern Gardening: Naturally occurring mulch can be pretty and useful

 

[SamClemensMT]

This sounds really colorful. It's just that mulch is so cheap. I can't see taking the time to do this. But I'd love to see a picture. maybe that would change my mind.

 

[kevinkimers]

Here it is as a mulch, this is only one color.

This is my favorite one. You just throw the seeds around and let them grow. There is really no effort, unless you want to give it effort. When the season is up, just let the petals drop and you got a riot of colorful mulch everywhere.

 

[Marck]

Any fallen flowers, not just Camellia, will add a vibrant and romantic grace note when scattered upon the ground. Of course,many will quickly brown and wither once they drop, though some may persist in a bright state for more than a day or two. In my climate, the colourful bracts (not petals) ofBougainvillea are particularly adept at giving a brilliant display after falling.

Note, for those Camellia growers whose plants suffer from Camellia Petal Blight (Ciborinia camelliae), it is wise to prioritize sanitation first and pick up any fallen blossoms. Dispose of them by burying them under the soil and a good distance away for the shrubs.