Latest Prices for Golden Camellia Seedlings and a Detailed Guide to Growing Them

Golden camellia is one of the national first-class protected plants in China. It is a shrub in the genus Camellia of the family Theaceae, and is a twin sister to tea, camellia, Nanshan tea, oil tea, and sasanqua. Its flowers are golden yellow, as if coated with a layer of wax, crystalline and glossy, with a seemingly translucent quality. Abroad it is called the magical Oriental magic tea, and it is praised as the giant panda of the plant world and the queen of the tea family. Now let us take a look together at the prices of golden camellia seedlings and how to grow them!

Golden Camellia Seedling Price List

Note: Golden camellia is a rare and precious plant in the world, extremely uncommon, with a very narrow distribution. The commonly seen types mainly include 28 varieties and several variants, and the price differences among different varieties are also very large. The above prices are for reference only; please rely on the actual prices when purchasing.

Propagation Methods for Golden Camellia

1. Sowing: Golden camellia fruit generally matures in early to mid-October and splits open in late October. The seeds have no after-ripening dormancy period, so autumn sowing is preferable. In early to mid-October, place the harvested fruit in a ventilated indoor spot to dry in the shade, and once the capsule splits open and the seeds are removed, sow them immediately.

2. Cuttings: The suitable period for golden camellia cuttings is from April to early May, and it can also be done in mid- to late September. Select from the outer part of the canopy current-year semi-mature branches that are firm in tissue, have intact leaves, plump leaf buds, and no pests or diseases. New roots can grow about 1 month after cutting.

3. Grafting: Golden camellia grafting is divided into seedling rootstock grafting and semi-mature branch grafting. For seedling rootstock grafting, ordinary single-petal camellia and oil tea camellia can be used as rootstocks. Semi-mature branch grafting usually uses thick-stemmed camellia or adult oil tea seedlings as rootstocks. Both grafting methods have relatively high survival rates.

4. Tissue culture: Embryo culture, cotyledon in vitro culture, and shoot tip and single bud culture of golden camellia have been successful. Research shows that the induction of bud formation and rooting in test-tube plantlets is related to factors such as the position of the explant source, inorganic salt concentration, vitamins, sucrose, growth regulators, and light.

How to Grow Golden Camellia

1. Soil: Golden camellia is not strict about soil and can grow in slightly acidic to neutral soil. It prefers well-drained acidic soil. For potting soil, it is best to add 1/2 to 1/3 pine needle soil to garden soil.

2. Watering: Golden camellia has strong tolerance to waterlogging, and it is best to keep the potting soil moist when watering. The water used for watering the flowers must have 1% ferrous sulfate added each time, so that the water always maintains a certain weak acidity.

3. Light: Golden camellia likes to grow in a semi-shaded and semi-cool environment, but during the seedling stage it prefers shade. After entering the flowering period, it quite likes filtered sunlight. In summer, it can be exposed to sun for at most 2 hours in the morning.

4. Fertilizing: Golden camellia tolerates poor soil but also likes fertilizer. Generally, fertilize 2 to 4 times before flowering in October to November and after flowering in April to May. The fertilizer mainly uses compound fertilizer and compost combined with an appropriate amount of phosphate fertilizer.

5. Pests and diseases: The diseases of golden camellia include anthracnose, sooty mold, leaf blight, and bud blight. A 70% thiophanate-methyl 800-fold dilution can be used for foliar spraying in the early stage of disease onset, once every 5 to 7 days, for 3 consecutive sprays.

6. Pruning: Golden camellia grows slowly and should not be pruned intensively. Its canopy develops evenly, so no special pruning is needed either. Simply cut off diseased and pest-damaged branches, overly dense branches, weak branches, and leggy branches. Newly planted seedlings may also be pruned moderately to ensure survival.