Greensboro Red Camellia

Glossy evergreen leaves and full, rose-red blooms that open in the quiet of winter — when almost nothing else in the garden dares to flower.

The Greensboro Red Camellia (Camellia japonica 'Greensboro Red') is a broadleaf evergreen shrub prized for its richly colored, formal-looking flowers and its handsome year-round presence. Each bloom is a deep, saturated red set against thick, lustrous dark-green foliage that stays dressed through every season. Flowering from winter into spring, it brings warmth and structure to the garden during the months when color is most welcome and hardest to find. Left to grow naturally it forms an upright, rounded shrub reaching 6 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide — equally at home as a specimen, a tall evergreen hedge, or the anchor of a shaded border.

What I love about it

The Greensboro Red blooms when the garden needs it most. While everything else is bare and gray, this camellia opens its deep red flowers in winter — a genuinely surprising and welcome sight. The blooms are formal and full, the foliage is polished and evergreen, and the plant is reliably hardy in Zones 7–10 once established. Plant it where you'll see it in winter: beside an entry, along a shaded foundation, as a living privacy screen, or woven into a woodland border under high tree canopy. The long-lasting flowers are also lovely floated in a shallow bowl, bringing a little of the cold-season garden indoors.

Plant Care Tips

• 🌥️ Light: Part shade to full shade — morning sun with afternoon shade is ideal
• 💧 Water: Keep consistently moist; camellias don't tolerate drought well
• 🧪 Soil: Acidic soil (pH 5.5–6.5); amend with peat moss or sulfur if needed
• 🪴 Difficulty: Easy to moderate — needs acidic soil and consistent moisture
• 🐾 Pet Safety: Non-toxic to cats and dogs
• ✂️ Pruning: Prune lightly after bloom in spring; avoid pruning in fall

Plant Specs

• Mature Size: 6–10 ft tall, 5–6 ft wide
• Growth Rate: Slow to moderate
• Bloom Time: Winter through spring
• Flower Color: Deep rose-red; formal, full blooms
• Foliage: Glossy dark green; evergreen year-round
• Growing Zone: 7–10

Bloom bold. Be cheeky.