Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow . One of the wonderful traits that camellias japonicas have is their ability to produce flowers over a long period of time. The buds which are present in fall are protected by an all-encompassing and protective calyx, the specialized structures at the base of a flower. As an individual flower begins to open, the cells in the preformed bud begin to swell, pushing open the calyx. As long as bud remains tightly encased,