Camellia Japonica Professor Sargent (Dark Red) – Stunning Flowering Shrub with Deep Red Blooms

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🎁 GIFTING BADGE
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🎁 Perfect Gift For:
✔ Housewarming ✔ Birthday
✔ Anniversary ✔ Garden Lovers
✔ Get Well Soon ✔ Festival Gift

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About This Plant
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Camellia japonica ‘Professor Sargent’ is one of the most celebrated dark-red Camellias in the world — a slow-growing, evergreen shrub prized for its fully double, deep crimson-red blooms that open in late winter and early spring. Each flower is densely packed with velvety petals arranged in perfect formal-double form, creating a bold, dramatic display that contrasts beautifully against lustrous, dark-green leathery foliage. Named after Professor Charles Sprague Sargent, the legendary American botanist and first director of the Arnold Arboretum, this variety has been grown and admired in gardens worldwide for well over a century. In India, it thrives in the cool highlands of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and the Nilgiri and Kodaikanal hills — one of the most commanding and richly coloured flowering shrubs for India’s mountain gardens, hill-station bungalows, and cool-climate terraces.

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✨ Key Benefits
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• 🌺 Stunning deep crimson-red formal double blooms — bold, velvety, and long-lasting in cool conditions
• 🏡 Compact, upright shrub (1.5–2.5 m) — ideal for formal borders, terrace feature pots & landscape specimens
• 🌿 Evergreen glossy dark-green foliage — provides stunning year-round colour contrast
• 🌺 A celebrated heritage variety with over a century of international cultivation and acclaim
• ✅ Low-maintenance once established — slow-growing, long-lived, and deeply rewarding in the right climate

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🌿 Care Instructions
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☀️ Sunlight: Partial shade to bright indirect light — morning sun with afternoon shade is ideal. The deep red blooms can fade in intense afternoon sun; dappled shade preserves the richest colour.

💧 Watering: Deeply once a week during the growing season; reduce to once every 10–14 days in winter. Never allow roots to sit in waterlogged soil — good drainage is essential.

🪴 Soil Composition: Camellias demand acidic, humus-rich, moisture-retentive yet well-draining soil. Best mix: garden loam + leaf compost + coarse river sand + perlite (2:2:1:1). Target pH 4.5–6.0 — test with a soil pH strip before planting; if pH is above 6.5, amend with sulphur powder or use an ericaceous compost blend. Mulch the root zone generously (5–8 cm) with dry leaves, bark chips, or pine needles.

🌡️ Temperature: 10–28°C ideal; tolerates brief frost when established; does not thrive where summer temperatures consistently exceed 35°C.

🧪 Fertilizer: Slow-release acidic fertilizer (Ericaceous or Azalea feed) in early spring after flowering; supplement with well-rotted leaf compost in autumn. Avoid high-nitrogen feeds after midsummer.

✂️ Pruning: Minimal — only after flowering in spring. Remove dead or crossing branches. Never prune hard into old wood.

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📏 Size Guide
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🌱 At Delivery:
Height: 20–40 cm
Pot Size: 6-inch nursery pot
Stage: Young, established sapling

🌿 After 2 Years:
Height: 60–90 cm
Spread: 40–60 cm
Growth Rate: Slow

🌳 Fully Grown:
Height: 1.5–2.5 m
Spread: 1–1.5 m
Time to First Bloom: 1–3 years from sapling

📌 Space Needed:
Minimum Pot Size: 14–18 inch terracotta or glazed ceramic pot
Garden Spacing: 1.5–2 m from other shrubs or walls

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📅 Seasonal Availability & Behaviour
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🌸 Late Winter / Early Spring (Jan – Mar): Peak flowering season. Deep crimson-red formal double blooms appear in dramatic profusion against dark glossy foliage.

🌿 Spring (Apr – May): New growth flushes of glossy leaves. Begin light fertilizing after flowering. Good planting time.

☀️ Summer (Jun – Aug): Lush evergreen foliage. Maintain regular watering. Flower buds begin forming for next season.

🍂 Autumn (Sep – Nov): Foliage remains evergreen. Reduce watering. Apply leaf compost around root zone.

❄️ Winter (Dec – Jan): Buds swell. Minimal watering. Protect from extreme frost below −5°C.

🛒 Best Time to Buy & Plant: March to May (post-bloom) or September to October.

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🌍 Climate Zone Compatibility
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✅ Cold Cities (thrives — summer max below 20°C): Leh, Kargil, Tawang, Spiti, Lahaul — flowers reliably

✅ Semi-Temperate Cities (grows well — summer max 20–28°C): Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Shillong, Munnar — excellent blooming

✅ Temperate Cities (best growth & flowering — summer max 25–32°C): Aizawl, Nainital, Dharamsala, Srinagar — ideal conditions

⚠️ Subtropical Cities (marginal — summer max 33–38°C): Dehradun, Bangalore, Pune, Guwahati — survives with afternoon shade and careful soil management

❌ Tropical & Hot Cities (not suitable): Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur — climate incompatible

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🏠 Perfect For
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👤 Who: Plant collectors, bold garden statement seekers, heritage homeowners, and red-flower enthusiasts
📍 Where: Formal garden borders, landscape specimen positions, terrace feature pots, mountain bungalow gardens
🎯 Why: Deep velvety crimson-red formal double blooms, year-round evergreen elegance, and a century of horticultural prestige

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📦 What You Get
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• 1 healthy Camellia Japonica Professor Sargent sapling
• Carefully packed for safe delivery to cool-climate destinations
• Nursery grown in controlled cool-climate conditions
• Free plant care guide
• 100% healthy plant guarantee

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: Can I grow Camellia Professor Sargent in Delhi or Mumbai?
A: Not recommended. Camellias need cool winters and moderate summers. In hot plains cities the plant may survive but will rarely flower well. Best suited to Ooty, Shimla, Nainital, Shillong, Srinagar and similar hill-station locations.

Q: How long before it flowers?
A: Young saplings typically bloom within 1–3 years in the right cool climate.

Q: Does it keep its leaves?
A: Yes — fully evergreen year-round, with rich, glossy dark-green foliage.

Q: What soil does it need?
A: Acidic, humus-rich, well-draining soil with pH 4.5–6.0. Garden soil + leaf compost + coarse sand + perlite. Mulching strongly recommended.

Q: How much sun does it need?
A: Partial shade with morning sun. Dappled shade preserves the deepest red colour in the blooms.

Q: Can I grow it in a pot?
A: Yes, in a 14–18 inch deep pot with excellent drainage and acidic potting mix.

Q: Will the plant survive shipping?
A: Yes. Special packaging ensures safe transit. We recommend planting immediately upon arrival.

Q: What if my plant arrives damaged?
A: 100% replacement guarantee. Email support@plantshub.in with a photo within 24 hours.

Q: Are the blooms fragrant?
A: Camellia Professor Sargent has a subtle, light fragrance. The focus of this variety is its spectacular deep red colour and perfect form.

Q: Does it need a lot of water?
A: Moderate, deep watering once a week. Never allow roots to sit in waterlogged soil.