Cam into blossom SPOTLIGHT ON
THE WELCOME ARRIVAL OF BEAUTIFUL CAMELLIAS ARE A SURE SIGN WINTER IS OVER AND SPRING IS ABOUT TO BURST FORTH STARTING OFF EARLY VEG
THE first plump, powder-puff camellia flowers are eagerly awaited each year, telling us gardeners that winter really is over and better days are finally on the way. And once they start opening, which is any time from now, the camellia season lasts roughly until mid-May. For those of us who do not have the right sort of soil – camellias only thrive on neutral to acid soil that is rich in humus – it is still possible to enjoy their Hollywood-style glamour by growing them in pots.
A camellia can live in the same large pot, tub or half barrel for many years and, because the roots are restricted, it stays naturally neat and compact – even if it is normally a big variety. Plenty of camellia plants are sold in full glory at nurseries and garden centres every spring as impulse buys for containers on a patio, tubs or beside the front door. I love the white and candystriped Lavinia Maggi, soft pink and perfectly formed Ave Maria, pink and rosette-like EG Waterhouse and the good old favourite rich pink Donation.
But if you buy one in bud or in flower now, take a tip and don’t re-pot it yet. Instead, stand it temporarily inside a bigger patio tub or decorative pot.
If you disturb the roots at this stage there is a good chance it will shed its buds, so wait until it has finished flowering before replanting it in a bigger container. Then choose one at least 15 inches in diameter, and use ericaceous compost. Go for ericaceous John Innes if you can find it. It is loam-based so will last longer in pots. But add a little grit and some peat-free ericaceous compost to give it a fluffier texture that drains more freely as potted camellias hate having waterlogged roots, and in winter that happens all too readily. From then on it’s just a case of keeping a camellia regularly watered. Use rainwater if you collect your own in a water butt – otherwise leave a bucket out on rainy days.
Dose it with diluted liquid tomato feed every couple of weeks from May to August. A couple of late feeds in August are especially important as that is when camellias initiate next year’s flower buds, and a quick boost of potash really helps.
Each spring, camellias appreciate having old potting compost refreshed, so shortly after flowering, remove an inch of growing medium from the top of the pot and replace it with new potting compost that you have beefed up with some slow-release feed granules. They only need re-potting when they are totally potbound, which may not be for two or three years or more. But the secret of growing camellias in containers is choosing the right sheltered position, with very light dappled shade (sun is fine as long as the roots are kept cool and moist in summer) and facing any direction except east. In a windy spot or one exposed to the early morning sun, the flowers are always disappointing because the petals turn brown. White-flowered varieties are the worst for being affected like this, so avoid them unless you really have a truly favoured spot. Otherwise, move your camellias into the conservatory from mid-winter onwards. Doing this will mean the flowers open weeks earlier than usual, even without any heating. However you choose to grow them, camellias make absolutely brilliant tub plants for a touch of late winter glitz.
Get your season off to a flying start by growing a few early vegetables.
If you haven’t dug over your veggie patch and covered it with polythene or old plastic sacks to warm up the soil, do so now and leave it a week.
Then uncover the ground, hoe off any weeds, sprinkle generalpurpose fertiliser over and rake it in, leaving the ground soft and smooth.
Choose varieties with care, since not all veg or salads are suitable for sowing early.
Go for the fastergrowing hardy kinds as they’ll give quick results.
You should be quite safe to sow Little Gem lettuce, spinach, radish, spring onions, Swiss chard and early varieties of carrots.
As soon as they’re sown, cover thinly with raked-back soil, water them in and cover the rows with fleece or cloches.
After the seeds come through, leave the crops covered since the trapped heat and protection from weather will make them grow faster than usual. Uncover them briefly every few weeks to run a hoe through whenever weeds start growing.
1 The first 100% plastic-free, plant-based Red Nose is the big feature on the Comic Relief face this year. It’s on sale in Sainsbury’s ahead of the fundraising night on March 19 and is made from bagasse, a natural by-product of sugarcane. The new nose took more than 18 months to develop and is available in 10 great characters including a fox, a badger and the caterpillar actress Anya Taylor-Joy, left, is wearing
2 There was just a minor change for 1989 when the words “My Nose” were added to the design. The 1991 Red Noses sported tiny arms and hands. Rowan Atkinson modelled both the car and human versions.
3 A staggering 3,307,000 tomato-style noses, as worn by Sir Lenny Henry, were snapped up in the mid-90s. The noses have also featured faces, been hairy, fluffy, squeaky, glittery and even multicoloured over the years. The 1995 noses changed colour from red to gold or from red to pink.
4 Red Nose Day went prehistoric in 2013 with three dino characters sporting toes and cute grins – there was Dinomite, T-Spex and Triceytops to collect for £1 each and the trio also featured in online games. There were characters galore in 2019, but two of the rarest were the Happy Hooter and The Transforminos. You had a one in 8,400 chance of finding the latter.
5 Red Noses have turned up on cars, lorries and even the front door of 10 Downing Street when celebrity fundraisers including Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating and Alesha Dixon were invited to meet then PM Gordon Brown, in 2009, for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of the charity.
6 Concorde’s famous profile has been transformed a number of times for Comic Relief. It first acquired a Red Nose in 1988 and was fitted with a 24 ft schnozzle at Heathrow airport in 1995.
7 The 2003 hairy nose came with its own pot of hair gel so you could style it to your individual tastes. Ruby Wax opted for a Red Nose Day take on the handlebar moustache. In a similar vein, the 2007 red spongy nose also came with stickers so you could give it the personal look.
8 Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief were helping supporters of Red Nose Day to do their bit for the environment in 2013 when more than a million red noses were recycled into carpet underlay for UK homes by Ball & Young Limited.
9 Mysterious, supersize red noses popped up at iconic locations across the UK in 2019. The giant sculptures were seen from Blackpool seafront to London’s St Paul’s Cathedral and the nose of Cornwall’s Mud Man, below.
10 More than £70m has been raised for good causes over the last 32 years helping to change countless lives in the UK and all over the world. Comic Relief co-founder Richard Curtis says: “We are committed to designing a more sustainable Nose every year, while continuing to make them attractive and fun.” Go to comicrelief.com for fundraising details.