How to Plant Camellia Seeds? A Detailed Guide to the Planting Method

Camellia seeds are the fruit of the tea-oil camellia tree, mainly used for pressing oil (tea oil) for consumption, so how do you plant camellia seeds?

1. Growth habits of the tea-oil camellia tree

The tea-oil camellia tree is a plant of the Theaceae family, Camellia genus, also called tea-seed tree, tea-oil tree, white flower tea, etc. Its main distribution area in China runs from the Yangtze River basin to various parts of South China.

The tea-oil camellia prefers warmth and fears cold, requiring an annual average temperature of 16-18°C, with an average temperature of 12-13°C during the flowering period. Sudden low temperatures or late frosts will cause flowers and fruit to drop. It requires fairly ample sunlight; otherwise it only grows branches and leaves, bears little fruit, and has a low oil content.

Tea-oil camellia cultivation requires sufficient moisture, with annual rainfall generally above 1000 mm, but continuous rain during the flowering period affects pollination. It should be planted in places with gentle slopes and weak erosion. It is not very demanding about soil, and is generally suited to deep acidic soil, but not to places with many stones and hard soil.

2. How do you plant camellia seeds?

Sowing is generally carried out in spring and winter. The sowing method uses drilling. Before sowing, apply sufficient base fertilizer in the seedbed. After sowing is finished, cover with a layer of fine fertilized soil and a layer of thin grass. Once the seeds germinate and emerge, the thin grass can be uncovered to carry out weeding and loosening of the soil.

Before sowing camellia seeds, seed selection is also very important. It is best to select fresh, high-quality seeds that are large, plump, have blackish-brown seed shells, no disease spots and a glossy surface, and spread them thinly in a well-ventilated, dry place to let them naturally crack and thresh, then store the seeds indoors in a shaded, dry place.

After the seeds germinate, when they grow to 20 cm tall, you can thin the seedlings, keeping the most robust one among the 3 seedlings and removing the other two or planting them elsewhere for later use, or transplanting them to another place.