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Theaceae
Sasanqua Camellia
Camellia sasanqua
Quiet courage in the cold and humble grace.
- Family
- Theaceae
- Genus
- Camellia
- Native to
- southern Japan
- Bloom season
- Fall, Early Winter
- Type
- evergreen shrub
- Height
- 1.5–4 m
- Sunlight
- part shade
- Soil
- acidic, moist, well-drained
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 7–9
- Lifespan
- long-lived shrub
Did you know
- Unlike Camellia japonica, sasanqua flowers shatter petal by petal, never falling whole — beloved by tea masters.
- It blooms from October to December, often into the first frosts, when little else is in flower.
- The seeds yield 'tea seed oil', a traditional Japanese cooking and hair care oil.
- Sasanqua is more sun- and heat-tolerant than common camellia, making it the camellia of choice in the American South.
- Buddhist monks first cultivated it 1,000+ years ago around temple gardens in Kyushu.
Color meanings
White
humility and pure refinement
Pink
tender admiration
Red
warm ardor before winter