What are the latest propagation methods for camellias?

Camellias are mainly distributed in China and Japan. They are widely cultivated outdoors in the central and southern provinces of China, with a cultivation history of 1400 years. There are many propagation methods, and both sexual and asexual propagation can be used. Among them, cutting and approach grafting are the most commonly used. Below, let us take a look at these propagation methods for camellias!

Cutting propagation of camellias

This method is the simplest. September is the most suitable time for cuttings, and spring also works. Choose well-grown, semi-lignified branches, remove the lower leaves, keep the upper 3 leaves, cut diagonally with a sharp knife, immediately soak the cut end in 200-500ppm indolebutyric acid for 5-15 minutes, dry it in the sun, then insert it into a sand pot or vermiculite pot. After insertion, water it. The wound heals in about 40 days, and roots form in about 60 days. Cuttings treated with hormones root 2-3 months earlier than those not treated with hormones. Using vermiculite as the cutting bed also results in much faster rooting than a sand bed.

Approach grafting propagation of camellias

Choose a suitable variety such as tea cup camellia or oil tea as the rootstock, and approach graft a valuable camellia onto it. The approach grafting time is generally between Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. First plant the rootstock in a flower pot, use a knife to shave off about half at the parts to be joined, and the cuts must be smooth, then make the cut surfaces of both sides fit tightly together, wrap with plastic film, and water the rootstock twice a day. After 60 days, it can heal. At that time, it can be cut off and planted, and placed under tree shade, avoiding direct sunlight. In February of the following year, use a knife to cut off the tail of the rootstock, then plant it in its final location.

Leaf cutting propagation of camellias

Camellia propagation generally uses branch cuttings, but some valuable varieties are also propagated by leaf cutting due to limited sources of branches, or because taking material would affect their tree shape. Use mountain soil as the cutting medium, and mix in 1/3 river sand to facilitate aeration and drainage. Put the medium in a clay pot, then carry out pot cutting. Leaf cutting is best done during the rainy season. Take one-year-old leaves as leaf cutting material; ones that are too old are not easy to root, and ones that are too tender rot easily. Insert about 2 cm into the soil, press the soil firmly after insertion, water thoroughly, then place in a cool and ventilated place. Generally, roots can develop in 3 months, and in the spring of the following year, buds can sprout and branches can grow.

Air layering propagation of camellias

The greatest feature of the air layering method is that it can give new life to all the weak branches on a camellia that would otherwise be pruned off. This method also has a high survival rate, quick rejuvenation, and early flowering. On the weak branches that need to be pruned off, carry out ring-barking at an appropriate position, (generally 15-25 cm of branch can be left on the upper part). The ring-barking length can be between 5-8 mm. Tie on a suitably sized plastic film, add sterilized and disinfected peat soil or leaf mold inside the film. After 7-10 days, make another ring bark of 5-8 mm on the lower part of the plastic film. This is called the double ring-barking air layering method.

Tree grafting propagation of camellias

Camellia is a plant that is relatively difficult to keep alive. There are many propagation methods for camellias, among which grafting is the most commonly used. Grafting camellias has many advantages: it can maintain the excellent traits of the variety, accelerate plant growth so it quickly takes shape, allow large-scale production, and save scion wood, especially for rare varieties with few sources of scion wood. Oil tea tree grafting camellia technique: the grafting time is preferably between June and July. At this time, the leaves of the new shoots of the camellia scion have already unfolded, and the temperature is relatively high, so the graft wound heals quickly and the survival rate is high. The grafting method uses the cut grafting method among branch grafting methods. Because the grafting site is relatively high, it is often called ”top grafting for head replacement”.