Potting Soils for Camellias
Potting soils are not created equal. Most commercially blended potting soils that you buy in a bag have not been formulated to meet the needs of Camellias. We’re sure that there are a lot of good soils out there that may work, but if your soil contains a large amount of peat or compost, it could hold too much water and not provide enough oxygen to the roots of camellias to make then grow healthy and happy.

Unless your specific bagged soil is recommended or has been tested on camellias, we do not suggest using it.

Camellias do not like soil that is wet, or overly moist. They need to have good drainage. We have grown camellias for many years and we have had some good success and some good failures with it comes to soil. We have found that some camellias are more sensitive to soil composition than others. Sinensis and reticulata species are very sensitive and will not perform well or may die in soils that hold too much water.

Peat Moss
Peat is the main ingredient in most blended soils. While it is a good additive if you’re growing other plants, for camellias it can mean life or death with too much of it. We use peat, but just a small amount in our soils. Peat provides a moisture retention and helps improve soils that are very sandy.

Aged Bark
Our potting soil is made up of a very finely, ground, aged pine bark. The bark grind is about ¼ to ½ inch pieces. This is not the same as the bagged mulch you get in garden centers. Aged means that it has started to decompose or break down. Green bark is not good for camellias in potting soils so make sure if you are using a ground pine bark or other bark, that it has been properly aged.

Other barks might be cedar, fir, or oak and what you can find is dependent on where you live and what is available to you. In Georgia, the ground aged pine bark can be found in garden centers listed as “Soil Conditioner”. This might be true for other areas as well. Check with a local nursery that grows plants to see what they have available and may be able to sell you.
Pine bark is also very acid which is great for camellias which love a pH of about 5.8 – 6.5

Sand
We use a builder or play sand for our mix. It is very pure and grainy and when added to soils adds more drainage to help water move away and out of the soil.

Perlite
Although not used in our potting soils, perlite is another additive that can provide drainage to soils that hold too much water. Just don’t go overboard with Perlite as it is very alkaline and could affect your soil pH. Perlite is white volcanic matter that looks a lot like small pieces of Styrofoam. This should not be confused with vermiculite which is not recommended in your soils.

Compost
Compost is not generally recommended for camellias in containers. The reason for this is that compost tends to break down very rapidly and can cause a mucky, or overly moist environment for camellias that may lead to problems such as root rot, or poor performance. If you have tried a composted soil mix with camellias and they are growing ok for you, then by all means, keep using it. But if you've never grown camellias with composted soil, try it first before you jump in and plant a lot of them. Just because your compost does well for other plants, does not necessarily mean that your camellias will like it too. Just give it a try on a small scale first.

CamelliaShop Custom Blended Potting Soil Recipe

• 80% finely ground aged pine or other bark ¼ to ½ grind
• 20% perlite
  

Mix well and use mix for containers, or for ground planting if your soil needs amending. HollyTone Fertilizer can be added to your soil mix for a super-duper boosted mix! Use 2 tablespoons to 1 quart of soil.

CamelliaShop Potting Soil Alternative Recipe
In the event you can’t find aged ground pine or other bark, we have an alternative that you can use to create a soil very similar in make up to our own. Miracle Grow Orchid Mix is an excellent alternative when combined with sand. We have not tested any other brand so we don’t know if there are others that would work. This brand mixed with sand has passed our drainage and pH testing.

• 3 parts Miracle Grow Orchid Mix
• 1-2 parts perlite

Note: This potting soil contains fertilizer, so you may not want to add any additional fertilizer for a few weeks or if you add liquid feed, use it at ½ rate so you will not burn.