Sasanqua Camellia 'Leslie Ann'

Camellia sasanqua 'Leslie Ann'

$28.00 Sold out

| Hardiness Zones 7-9

Two Hall of Fame inductions hang on Leslie Ann's lineage, though neither is for a flower. The award stamped on her record, the Ralph Peer Sasanqua Award, carries the name of the man who in 1923 hauled recording equipment south to Atlanta and captured the first commercial sides of country and blues. Ralph Peer pioneered field recording and sits in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. Late in life he turned that same restless curatorial instinct on camellias, founding the Los Angeles Camellia Society in 1948 and rising to president of the American Camellia Society by 1957. The man who recorded the Carter Family also decided which sasanquas deserved to be remembered. In 1961, one of them was this one.

She is, despite the species name, an American plant. 'Leslie Ann' began as a chance seedling raised by Ray Davis of Mobile, Alabama, and first bloomed in 1954. Mobile is the right birthplace for her. The city has grown camellias since a single plant arrived from Liverpool in 1838, and over a century later that obsession was still producing seedlings worth naming. Davis grew his out, watched it flower for the first time, and recognized something most chance seedlings never earn: a reason to keep it.

What he kept is a flower that resists being called simply pink or white. The bloom opens as a tight rosette and gradually unfurls to three and a half or four inches across, white washed with rose and finished at the petal edges in a fine lavender-pink line, with a center of yellow stamens. The edging reads almost like a picotee, drawn rather than brushed. The registration notes an unusual lasting quality, holding close to two weeks, with a few petals twisting as they age, which gives an established plant in full October bloom a layered, slightly windblown look rather than a flat uniform one.

The habit is the quiet surprise. Where most sasanquas read as dense shrubs, Leslie Ann grows open and upright, and gardeners who know her keep reaching for the same comparison. Juniper Level Botanic Garden describes it as resembling a flowering cherry far more than a camellia. That openness makes her useful in ways a stiffer plant is not: a narrow profile for a tight space, a candidate for espalier against a warm wall, or simply a specimen given room to throw its branches. She blooms when most of the garden has finished, from mid-fall into early winter, and she does it on the year's old wood without any fuss.

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Hardiness Zones USDA Zones 7-9
Sun Part Shade
Soil Acid and Well-drained
Mature size Height: 10-12 Feet / Spread: 6-8 Feet
Growth Rate Slow
Seasonality Evergreen

Flower, Fruit and Foliage

Flower

The flower is the reason to grow her, and it does not give itself up all at once. Each bloom opens first as a tight little rosette, then unfurls gradually over a day or two into a full semi-double form three and a half to four inches across, two inches deep, carrying twenty to twenty-five petals around a boss of yellow stamens. The color is the trick: white, washed faintly with rose toward the center, and finished at every petal edge in a clean line of lavender-pink, drawn rather than brushed, close to a true picotee. A few petals twist as the flower matures, so an established plant in full bloom reads as layered and slightly windblown instead of flat. Individual flowers hold an unusually long time for a sasanqua, close to two weeks, and they come in real profusion. Bloom runs from mid-fall into early winter, October through December across most of the Southeast, when little else is doing anything at all. There is a light fragrance, the quiet kind you have to lean in for. Learn more @ International Camellia Register

Foliage

Evergreen, and handsome in every month she is not flowering. The leaves are dark glossy green, oblong and pointed, roughly two to three inches long by an inch wide, with a finely serrate edge. They are smaller and neater than a japonica's, which is part of what gives sasanquas their fine landscape texture. The foliage holds its color through winter and makes a deep, lustrous backdrop that throws the pale flowers forward. The habit beneath it is upright and relatively open for the species, closer to a small flowering tree than a dense shrub, which is exactly why she takes so well to espalier and to tight spaces. Expect eight to ten feet tall and four to five feet wide at maturity, at a moderate pace, easily kept smaller with annual pruning.

Fruit

Negligible, and that is the honest answer. Like most ornamental camellias she may set a small woody seed capsule, but it carries no ornamental weight and is easily overlooked. Nothing here to plan a garden around; the flowers are the whole event.

Read full care instruction manual here.

Light. Bright, broken shade is the sweet spot, morning sun with relief from hard afternoon heat. She will take more sun than a japonica and even run in full sun if her roots stay reliably moist, but afternoon shade keeps the white flowers from scorching and the foliage from bleaching.

Soil. Acid and well drained, on the sandy side, rich in organic matter. This is non-negotiable for camellias: she wants moisture but will not abide wet feet, and standing water will kill her. If your ground is heavy, plant her slightly high and amend generously.

Water. Even and regular through the first two or three growing seasons while she establishes, especially heading into her fall bloom, when drought stress costs you flowers. Once settled she is notably tough and will shrug off dry spells, though she rewards consistent moisture.

Mulch. Keep a few inches of organic mulch over the root zone year round, pulled back a touch from the trunk. Camellias are shallow rooted; mulch holds moisture, moderates soil temperature, and saves you from cultivating around the roots.

Feeding. Modest. An acid-forming, slow-release fertilizer formulated for camellias and azaleas, applied after bloom in late winter or early spring. Skip late-summer feeding, which pushes soft growth into the cold.

Pruning. Largely unnecessary, and this one's habit is worth letting express itself. If you do prune, do it just after flowering, before she sets next year's buds on the new growth, otherwise you trim away the very thing you planted her for. A light hand maintains the open form; a harder cut will rejuvenate an old or leggy plant.

Hardiness and siting. Reliably hardy in USDA zones 7b through 9, root-hardy and dependable once fully established. In zone 7 give her a sheltered spot out of drying winter wind. Heat and humidity tolerant, and largely untroubled by pests or disease; deer tend to leave her alone. Beyond the Ralph Peer Award, she earned a second institutional nod as a Louisiana Super Plants selection from the LSU AgCenter for fall 2015, which is to say people who evaluate plants for a living keep arriving at the same conclusion.

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Here’s a closer look at how we produce our plants:

From rooting to shipping, our top priority is ensuring you receive healthy, thriving plants for your garden’s success.

The majority of our plants are carefully cultivated from rooted cuttings, while we also utilize propagation methods such as seed, air layering, and grafting, thoughtfully chosen to suit each plant’s unique needs.

Our plants are cultivated using sustainable practices, including organic soil blends and eco-friendly pest management, ensuring they thrive while minimizing environmental impact.

We are proud to contribute to local biodiversity through ongoing donations to the Aiken Arboretum and support for local wildlife conservation efforts, helping to preserve and enhance our community’s natural ecosystems.

Grown in Aiken, South Carolina

At Woodlanders, we are committed to quality.

All our plant material is carefully propagated, grown, and nurtured at our humble nursery in Aiken, South Carolina.

Learn more about Woodlanders here.

Plant Success Tip #1

Unpack Promptly

Carefully unpack your plant as soon as it arrives. Check the roots and soil to ensure they are still moist. If the roots feel dry, lightly mist or water them before proceeding with planting or temporary storage.

Plant Success Tip #2

Acclimate Your Plant

Allow your plant to adjust to its new environment by placing it in a sheltered spot for a day or two before planting, especially if it has traveled a long distance. Avoid exposing it to extreme temperatures right away.

Plant Success Tip #3

Follow Planting and Care Instructions

Plant your new arrival as soon as possible, following the specific care guidelines provided. If planting outdoors isn’t immediately possible, temporarily pot it in well-draining soil to maintain health until conditions are suitable.

Read Care Instructions

Frequently Asked Questions

What to expect upon delivery

All our plants are sold in 1-gallon sizes, though the height of each plant can vary depending on its growth rate and seasonality, typically ranging from 1/2 to 2.5 feet.

Each plant is carefully packaged with its roots enclosed in a secure plastic bag containing moist soil, forming a compact root ball. To ensure safe transport, the box is padded with recycled newspaper, providing both stability and eco-friendly protection from weather during shipping.
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