Camellia japonica Spring Formal

Camellia ‘Spring Formal’ is a Japanese camellia with classic double flowers in a beautiful deep pink, which blooms from late winter to spring. It is a vigorous variety, with a stately habit, ideal for enlivening partially shaded areas of the garden or a sheltered terrace. Its beautiful evergreen foliage and elegant flowering will be appreciated in an acidic soil bed, as a standalone specimen or in a large pot. Hardy down to −15 °C, this variety can be grown in many regions.

Belonging to the Theaceae family, Camellia japonica ‘Spring Formal’ is a cultivar registered in 1986 by Nuccio’s Nurseries (Altadena, California). Originating from a sowing of C. japonica ‘Kumasaka’, it first flowered in 1975. The name "Chuntian Yelifu" is also found in Asian literature as an equivalent.
This variety is upright, dense and branching; its growth is rather fast for a camellia. In open ground, a mature specimen commonly exceeds 2 m in height. At 10 years old, the bush measures approximately 1.20 m high by 0.80 m wide. The stems bear leathery and glossy evergreen foliage, of a fairly light green for a camellia. The leaves are ovate to elliptical, 5 to 10 cm long, with a finely toothed margin. The root system is mainly fibrous and shallow, sensitive to compaction and drying out. It develops some deeper anchoring roots at maturity. 
Flowering occurs from February to April, depending on the climate. The flowers are double, well overlapped, and they measure 9.5 to 10 cm in diameter. They are a very uniform, clear, deep pink.

Plant Camellia Spring Formal in a partially shaded position, bright in the morning, protected from direct afternoon sun and cold winds. Provide it with humus-bearing, acidic soil that does not dry out in summer. Pair it, according to the available space, with deciduous Dwarf Rhododendrons and spring-flowering magnolias, which let light through in winter. Create a beautiful camellia bed by combining it with complementary varieties like ‘Stacy Suzan’, ‘Nuccio's Pearl’ or ‘Nobilissima’, to stagger the flowers from mid-winter to spring.

The genus name Camellia pays tribute to the Jesuit and naturalist Georg Kamel, while the specific epithet "japonica" recalls the first European descriptions made in Japan, even though the species is native to East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan). The species C. japonica originates from the hill and mountain forests of East Asia, where it grows in the understorey on acidic, moist and well-draining soils. In Japan and China, camellia oil (tsubaki), from related species, has been used for centuries in cosmetics and for blade maintenance.