yah or nah ? help me houzz ! ha

Yes, you can certainly fit two plants- especially if you are willing to eventually prune it.

Pruning well can also promote flowering.

I'm not sure which variety this is that my neighbors have, although I suspect it may be 'Kanjiro'. It's a showstopper every winter, especially around New Year's Day.

I once had a Shishigashira and it was growing more sideways than upwards. It was about 5' wide after 5-7 years. So 9' might be crowded unless you do a small hedge kind of a thing and prune to keep the two shrubs in check.

One should eventually be enough. 7' is really not wide enough for two.

Companion plants can keep it company in the meantime.

Virginia

true, I was going to get a 3 gal but i was thinking i could just get a bigger size so it fills out the space better and then do what your saying and plants some hostas or something else around it to make it full

In the Southeast, a traditional companion for camellias is Daphne odora. They're both winter-blooming, and the Daphne supplies the fragrance most camellias lack...

are there any other popular varieties that I could plant two plants within this 7-8ft area,instead of the ShiShi. I'm worried the ShiShi will look too small in this area and I know I can use compliment plants to surround it but I really want a big area of camellia blooms here.

the three I am thinking of are a Cotton Candy, Kanjiro and MineNoYuki.. maybe Yuletide, but least favorite..

My issue is they all say Early Bloom.. so either that's wrong, I should pick white because it will look good near ShiShi, or I need a popular variety mid/late season variety. ( I say "popular" because there are a LOT of varieties and I don't have many nurseries that can get too rare varieties )

Shi Shi is one of the smaller plants, so if you don't have room for two plants of it, I don't know how you'll manage two plants of a larger variety. I think that one plant of 'Kanjiro' would look good if centered in the space and surrounded with companion plants.

'Cotton Candy' and 'Mine-no-Yuki' are pretty, but I don't know if a pale-colored bloom will catch the eye like the deep pink 'Kanjiro'... But that's my personal taste, and you may prefer a lighter color...

Virginia

Virginia, do you have either shishi, bonanza or mine-no-yuki ? im just wondering what their bloom times are as as we are the same zone.

I have decided on planting Mine-no-Yuki along the backyard fence. I can either plant Bonanza near it to complement it, or ShiShi Gashira to complement it. Either way I have to decide on who gets planted alone in the front yard, Bonanza or ShiShi !??

Any thoughts?

I don't grow any of them, but I think Shishi has a somewhat longer blooming season than the others you've mentioned, so might be a better candidate for the front yard?.

BTW, if you like Irises, there is a shade-loving hybrid called 'Nada'; if you need some plants for a shady spot...

Virginia