Camellia hiemalis Pink Goddess

The Pink Goddess Camellia is an excellent selection of autumn camellia, which stands out for the elegance of its large, soft pink flowers, enhanced by a beautiful heart of golden stamens. They bloom at the end of the year, with a light fragrance, on an upright and regular bush that keeps its beautiful dark green foliage even in winter. Its modest development and elegance allow this variety to be grown in a large pot on the terrace, but also in the open in milder climates, placed in the centre of a flowerbed or in a flowering hedge. Autumn camellias, with their natural allure, are very easy to combine with many shrubs and they bloom at a time of year when other flowers are rare.

The 'Pink Goddess' autumn camellia is a hybrid shrub from the tea family, classified in the 'hiemalis' category. This group includes a number of varieties probably resulting from the spontaneous cross-breeding between Camellia sasanqua and Camellia Japonica. The 'Pink Goddess' variety was obtained in the United States in the 1990s. It forms a bushy shrub, carried by rather upright long branches. Its growth is quite slow, reaching approximately 1.20 m (4 ft) in height and 80 cm (32 in) in width by the age of 10 years. Its adult size can be 1.5 to 2 m (6 ft). Its flowering period usually extends from November to December. At first fairly round buds appear, in soft pink. Then come the 8-9 cm (3.5 in) diameter flowers, single, with 7 rounded and slightly crumpled petals, pale pink in color. A beautiful heart of golden yellow stamens is revealed at full bloom. The flowers are not long-lasting, living for only 2 or 3 days, but they constantly renew themselves on the plant, leaving a carpet of petals on the ground like Japanese cherry trees. The  foliage, dense and evergreen, is composed of beautiful elliptical, dentate leaves, dark green, slightly glossy, measuring 6 to 9 cm (2.4 to 3.5 in) long by 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) wide. Fairly hardy (down to -12°C (10.4 °F)), this camellia appreciates sun or partial shade, and a limestone-free soil that remains cool in summer.

The Pink Goddess Camellia x hiemalis, just like its Japanese parent, tolerates the sun and windy conditions better than other camellias. It performs better in mild climates than in cold regions, where its hardiness is sometimes lacking and its flowering can be destroyed. Wherever winter is not too harsh, it can be planted in the garden as a solitary plant, or combined with other ericaceous plants (Rhododendron, azaleas, Hydrangea, Witch-hazel) in a flowering hedge. This camellia deserves a prime location, at the entrance of the garden or beside a path. You can also dress its base with autumn bulbs such as colchicums or Naples cyclamens. In cold regions, it can be planted on a balcony or terrace, to be brought indoors during its flowering period to a veranda or cold greenhouse. If necessary it can be brought into the house to protect it from cold, provided its foliage is regularly misted and it is watered with non-calcareous water.