Alabama's State Flower: The Camellia
Alabama's official state flower is the camellia (Camellia japonica) — a striking, glossy-leafed evergreen shrub prized for its rose-like winter and early-spring blooms.
A Late Change of Heart
Alabama's first state flower, adopted in 1927, was actually the goldenrod. Complaints that goldenrod was a common roadside weed and aggravated allergies eventually won out, and in 1959 the state legislature swapped it for the camellia, a plant admired in Southern gardens for the way it blooms when little else in the garden is in flower.
Growing Camellias
Camellias thrive in partial shade with acidic, well-drained soil — conditions common throughout much of the state. They bloom from late fall through early spring in shades of white, pink, and red, and a single well-established shrub can live and flower for decades with minimal care.
Alabama is the only U.S. state to have officially changed its state flower once already adopted.
