How Do Camellias Reproduce? A Detailed Introduction to Propagation Methods

Camellias are mainly distributed in China and Japan, and 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 which cutting and approach grafting are the most commonly used. Let's take a look at these propagation methods for camellias below!

Cutting Propagation of Camellias

This method is the simplest. The most suitable time for cutting is September, though spring also works. Choose well-grown, semi-lignified branches, remove the leaves at the base, keep the upper 3 leaves, cut a slanting incision with a sharp knife, immediately dip the cut end into 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 without hormone treatment. 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 teacup 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 on each side, 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 will have healed, at which point it can be cut off and planted, and placed under tree shade to avoid direct sunlight. In February of the following year, use a knife to cut off the tail end of the rootstock, then plant it out.

Leaf Cutting Propagation of Camellias

Camellia propagation generally uses branch cuttings, but for some valuable varieties, due to limited sources of branches or because taking cuttings would affect the tree shape, leaf cutting is also used. Use mountain soil as the cutting medium, and mix in 1/3 river sand to improve 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; leaves that are too old do not root easily, and those too tender rot easily. Insert about 2 cm into the soil, press the soil firmly after insertion, water thoroughly, then place in a cool, ventilated place. Generally, roots develop in 3 months, and in the spring of the following year buds and shoots emerge.

High-Altitude Layering Propagation of Camellias

The biggest feature of the high-altitude layering method is that it can give new life to all the weak and small branches on the camellia that would otherwise be pruned off. This method also has a high survival rate, quick rejuvenation, and early flowering. Take the thin and weak branches that need to be pruned off and carry out ring barking at an appropriate position (generally leaving 15-25 cm of branch at the upper part). The ring bark 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, carry out another ring bark of 5-8 mm on the lower part of the plastic film. This is called the double ring-barking high layering method.

Tree Grafting Propagation of Camellias

Camellia is a plant that is relatively difficult to keep alive. There are many and varied 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 takes shape quickly, enable large-scale production, and save scion wood, which is especially important for rare varieties with few sources of scion wood. Oil tea tree grafting camellia technique: the grafting time is best between June and July, when the new shoot leaves 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 position is relatively high, it is often called "high grafting and top replacement".

Propagation Methods for Camellias

Commonly used methods are cutting, grafting, layering, sowing, and tissue culture propagation.

Cutting propagation: mid-June and around the end of August are the most suitable. Choose current-year semi-mature branches from the outer part of the crown that are full in tissue, have complete leaves, and plump leaf buds as cuttings, 8-10 cm long, leaving 2 leaves at the tip. When cutting, keep a bit of old branch at the base if possible; after insertion, callus tissue forms easily and roots develop quickly. Cut the cuttings in the early morning and insert them as soon as they are cut, inserting about 3 cm into the medium. When inserting, the leaves should overlap each other, and after insertion press firmly with fingers. Shallow insertion is better, as it allows air circulation and faster healing and rooting. The cutting bed needs shading, spray the leaf surface with water every day, keep it moist, and maintain the temperature at 20-25°C. About 3 weeks after insertion healing begins, and roots form after 6 weeks. When the roots are 3-4 cm long, transplant into pots. When cutting, dip the base of the cuttings in a 0.4%-0.5% indolebutyric acid solution for 2-5 seconds, which has a clear effect of promoting rooting.

Grafting propagation: often used for varieties that are difficult to root from cuttings or have few propagation materials. Grafting in May-June, when new shoots have become semi-lignified, gives the highest survival rate, and after successful grafting buds and shoots emerge quickly. The rootstock is mainly oil tea, with seeds collected in October, stored in sand in winter, sown in early April of the following year, and when the seedlings grow to 4-5 cm they can be used for grafting. Use the softwood cleft grafting method: use a blade to cut off the embryonic bud part of the bud rootstock, make a vertical cut upward along the pith at the center of the cross section of the hypocotyl, then take one node of camellia scion and also cut the base below the node into a regular wedge shape, immediately insert the prepared scion into the bottom of the rootstock split, align the cambium on both sides, tie with cotton thread, and cover with a clean plastic bag. Remove the bag after about 40 days, and only after about 60 days will buds and shoots emerge.

Layering propagation: in the plum rain season, choose robust 1-year-old branches, at 20 cm from the tip carry out ring barking with a width of 1 cm, bind with leaf mold and wrap with plastic film. Roots form after about 60 days, and it can be cut off and directly potted, with a high survival rate.

Seed propagation: suitable for single-petaled or semi-double varieties. The seeds mature in mid-October and can be sown then. Shallow sowing is better. Use vermiculite as the medium, cover with 6 mm, keep at room temperature 21°C, and provide 10 hours of light each night to promote seed germination. Germination begins 15 days after sowing, and within 30 days the seedlings reach 8 cm in height. Transplant when the seedlings have 2-3 leaves.

Tissue culture propagation: the explant is often a seedling. After routine disinfection, cut into 1 cm lengths and inoculate on MS medium supplemented with kinetin 1 mg/L, 6-benzylaminopurine 1 mg/L, and indoleacetic acid 0.1 mg/L. After 4 weeks of culture, only callus tissue forms, without shoots. After transfer to new medium, single shoots of 4 cm begin to form, then soak in indolebutyric acid 0.5 mg/L solution for 20 minutes, then transfer to 1/2 MS medium, and roots grow after 4 weeks. After growing on the rooting medium for 8 weeks, transplant the seedlings into pots containing perlite and peat.

How Do Camellias Reproduce? Key Points to Note in Camellia Cutting Propagation Techniques

Camellias are favored by flower lovers because of their graceful plant form and brilliant, colorful flowers. But some flower lovers do not know how camellias reproduce. In fact, camellias can be propagated by cutting, layering, sowing, and other methods, but for ordinary flower lovers, cutting is the most practical propagation method. Next, let's learn about the key points to note in camellia cutting propagation techniques.

Image: Camellia

1. Cutting Time

Taking the Fujian region as an example, most are inserted into seedling beds in the nursery ground from June 10-30, and clay pots or wooden boxes can also be used as containers for cutting.

2. Cutting Selection

Choose current-year tender branches. It is better to use current-year semi-mature branches from the outer part of the crown that are full in tissue, have complete leaves, and plump leaf buds as cuttings, 8-10 cm long, leaving 2 leaves at the tip.

3. Cutting the Branches

When cutting, keep a bit of old branch at the base if possible; after insertion, callus tissue forms easily and roots develop quickly. Cut the cuttings in the early morning and insert them as soon as they are cut.

Image: Camellia

4. Cutting Method

Insert about 3 cm into the seedling bed medium. When inserting, the leaves should overlap each other, and after insertion press firmly with fingers. When cutting, dip the base of the cuttings in a 0.4%-0.5% indolebutyric acid solution for 2-5 seconds, which has a clear effect of promoting rooting. Shallow insertion is better, as it allows air circulation and faster healing and rooting.

5. Management After Insertion

The cutting seedling bed needs shading. Spray the leaf surface with water every day, keep it moist, and maintain the temperature at 20-25°C. About three weeks after insertion healing begins, and roots form after six weeks. When the roots are 3-4 cm long, they can be transplanted into pots. When new roots have grown from the base and new shoots and new leaves have grown from the top of the branches, transplanting can be carried out.

6. Survival and Transplanting

For those that survive cutting, transplanting can generally be done from mid-September to early October of the same year. If not transplanted at this time, waiting until March of the following year is even better, because they can grow more roots in place, and the survival rate after transplanting is also higher. At this time it also coincides with another growth period of the camellia, which has many benefits for growth and development. One thing to note: if the cutting medium used is river sand or rice chaff ash, after rooting and leaf growth, transplant and divide as early as possible, because these media lack nutrients, and over time they will affect the growth of the surviving seedlings in the nursery.