Can anyone tell me what this flowering bush is?

Angela F
by Angela F
We've recently bought a new house that has tons of landscaping, but most of it we just don't recognize. We're particularly curious about 4 bushes around our dining room windows that look like they're going to have giant flowers! Does anyone know what they are called? We've never seen anything like it...
  41 answers
  • R.V.R. Farris R.V.R. Farris on Feb 01, 2013
    Camellia
  • Angela F Angela F on Feb 01, 2013
    Thank you so much! Now I can look up how to take care of them. :)
  • Claudia Dunkley Claudia Dunkley on Feb 01, 2013
    Camellia
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Feb 02, 2013
    When they start blooming, you are really going to be thanking the previous owner of your house.
  • Designs by BSB Designs by BSB on Feb 02, 2013
    We have a few... beautiful flowers!!
  • Corkie Smith Corkie Smith on Feb 02, 2013
    Camellia - it was one of my Mothers favorite flowers - there is a Camellia Society near you I'm sure.... http://www.camellias-acs.com/
  • They are very popular here in Virginia.
  • R.V.R. Farris R.V.R. Farris on Feb 02, 2013
    You are very welcome, Angela F. And consider yourself very lucky to have four camellia shrubs to view from your dining room window. They are wonderful additions to any landscape in my opinion.
  • Pamela F Pamela F on Feb 02, 2013
    Yes, you are lucky to have these beauties in your landscape! I now have one (Camellia Sasanqua 'Leslie Ann') and it bloomed this lovely flower this fall:-)
  • Shari K Shari K on Feb 02, 2013
    Looks like a Peony to me! I have grown them for years! Beautiful plants!
  • Cheryl Cheryl on Feb 02, 2013
    Shari K, Camellias have a tough. leathery leaf that doesn't resemble the leaf of a peony when you see them. Plus they grow on bushes that can be as tall as small trees. The flowers are much smaller, but both plants are gorgeous.
  • Angela F Angela F on Feb 02, 2013
    I love peonies. They were in my wedding bouquet :)
  • Angela F Angela F on Feb 02, 2013
    Thank y'all so much for taking the time to answer my question! When they get around to blooming, I'll post pictures here :)
  • Tanya Peterson Felsheim Tanya Peterson Felsheim on Feb 03, 2013
    Oh I love camelia's! They don't survive well in our environment but they are so gorgeous popping out when cold!
  • Jenny@birdsandsoap Jenny@birdsandsoap on Feb 03, 2013
    all the pretty flowers grow in the south!
  • Patricia M Patricia M on Feb 05, 2013
    I agree; peonies. When I was still at home (many years ago !!) my parents bought a house that had numerous plants also. There were several of these. They lived 37 yrs, until both my parents were gone :( and we sold the house. They are beautiful and require no fuss.
  • Tanya Peterson Felsheim Tanya Peterson Felsheim on Feb 06, 2013
    I have been planting Peonies the only problem is they just don't last very long! So sad! and I have trouble getting a lot of blooms really researching my soil and what I'm doing wrong
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Feb 06, 2013
    Peonies do have beautiful flowers, but Angela's plants are camellias.
  • Angela F Angela F on Feb 06, 2013
    I am just starting my gardening adventures, so all of this is very new to me. The flowers I posted pictures of here are on large bushes -- taller than me, almost. I guess you could almost call them small trees. There are so many more blooms, and I can see the color in some of them now. I think they're going to open soon, and I can't wait to see what they look like!
  • R.V.R. Farris R.V.R. Farris on Feb 06, 2013
    I believe we all are hoping you'll post some pictures of the blooms. Camellia blooms can come in a wide range of colors. Currently the bush in my yard has a very soft pinkish bloom, my last house, the blooms were red and white striped. I called it my peppermint bush.
  • Patricia M Patricia M on Feb 06, 2013
    I'm sorry; Douglas is right. Those flowers do not look like the big peonies my Mom had. But they are so beautiful.
  • Karen V Karen V on Feb 11, 2013
    Camellias and you will get lots of seeds from them too.
  • Judy F Judy F on Feb 17, 2013
    No mention in comments that the camellia will bloom twice each year - summer and winter. Lovely plant.
  • Anita Faircloth Anita Faircloth on Mar 01, 2013
    Definitely camelias! I love the beautiful evergreen bushes as well as the beautiful flowers.
  • Angela F Angela F on Mar 05, 2013
    These bushes have FINALLY started blooming! Some look to be pink/red, and some look like they'll be multicolored -- white/cream with hints of color. Super pretty!
  • Tanya Peterson Felsheim Tanya Peterson Felsheim on Mar 05, 2013
    Yes camelias.....I love them...
  • R.V.R. Farris R.V.R. Farris on Mar 05, 2013
    And how lucky to have different color blooms in the same yard! Love that.
  • Debsanne Debsanne on Mar 07, 2013
    Camelias
  • Patricia M Patricia M on Mar 10, 2013
    So pretty. Is it too late to plant the bushes now?
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Mar 11, 2013
    Patricia, I don't think camellias would be hardy in St. Louis. You would probably need to grow them in a large pot that you could move to a greenhouse for the winter. (They want bright light and cool winter temperatures of 45-60 degrees F.)
  • Cheryl Cheryl on Mar 13, 2013
    I'd agree with Douglas.
  • Sharon Burton Sharon Burton on May 14, 2013
    Camellias, They are a southern flower
  • Carrie Carrie on Mar 11, 2014
    Camellias! One of my Favorites!
  • Susan Susan on Mar 11, 2014
    camillias to me
  • Helen Helen on Mar 19, 2014
    i planted some in my southernmost landscape here in VA - mine are rosy red camellia japonicas. They are blooming now even though we have had 32 degree weather. First thing that blooms in the spring in my yard.
  • Johanna Eldridge Johanna Eldridge on Mar 19, 2014
    Definitely camellia!! there are many, many different cultivars of camellia. some are more cold sensitive than others. they are obviously very content and are blooming where they are planted!! we have a few freezes here every winter at the beach in NC and camellias love our climate. Camellia sinensis is the plant that produces what we enjoy as white, green or black tea!! One of my friends actually grows her own green tea here in coastal NC! ENJOY your happy flowering shrubs!!
  • Wanda sinnema Wanda sinnema on Jun 22, 2014
    treat them like azaleas or rhodendrons,,,,,love acid soil,,,,, all grow great here in western Washington,,zone 7. here are some that bloom in the winter some in the spring and summer.... only negative,,,the blooms drop and are very messssy for quite a long time.. Nice winter foliage, evergreen, lots of colors and varieties,,some varigated foliage..Birds like to nest in them because they are evergreen.
  • Jeannie Carle Jeannie Carle on Apr 12, 2015
    Absolutely camellias! I've not seen one since I moved to Missouri! Grew up with a big beautiful pink and white one outside my kitchen window on the Oregon coast. What a lovely lovely plant!!!
  • Pat Helvie Pat Helvie on Mar 07, 2016
    Camellias.. They bloom in the south in the winter. Beautiful
  • Bnd2070302 Bnd2070302 on Mar 08, 2016
    Camillia...have one in my front in full...beautiful and leaves are evergreen, don't drop.
  • Gabrielle Falk Gabrielle Falk on Jun 14, 2016
    Camellia. Same as in Australia.