Camellias or roses? (house, buy, to move)

[sweetcheeks83]

Does anyone have advice on plants?
I had taken a trip down to Macon, GA and saw the most beautiful flowers (at the historic Hay House actually) the director there told me they were camellias (blooming in January!)I'm not familiar with them up here in NJ (we're about to move down to SC) but I would love, love to plant them in my new yard in Catawba but don't know if they thrive in SC? If not could you suggest other flowering plants that do well? Roses perhaps? Also, if the camellias do well in SC, where would I buy the initial plants in that area? Thanks so much.

[greenvillesc]

Camellias are a plant that does very well here in the South. They are evergreens and yes, you can see them blooming in the winter months! Roses also do well here, and they love lots of sun. The double knock-out variety are beautiful and fairly disease resisitant. Most nurseries carry both camellias and roses. There is a nursery in the Ballantyne area called Pike Nursery that has a huge variety of all types of plants, but I am not familiar with nurseries in Catawba.

[sweetcheeks83]

Thanks! I can't wait to start planting...

[jenn02674]

both are beautiful but camelias don't bloom nearly as long as roses do. Both are also pretty easy and do well here but roses will get demolished by japanese beetles for about a month or six weeks in July. They will survive but they won't have flowers because the beetles eat them. The ONLY successful thing to do is to put milky spore down but it does take a few years to totally work.