How to do camellia cuttings? Detailed steps easy to understand at a glance

Step 1

Choose a loose, well-draining sandy soil, generally a mix of perlite and coarse sand or vermiculite.

Step 2

Choose well-developed branches; generally thinner branches should be longer and thicker branches shorter, then cut them off along the cut point.

Step 3

Soak the cut branches separately in potassium permanganate and rooting powder for about 10 minutes, then insert them into the soil and wait for them to root.

Camellia cutting propagation method, simple steps

The soil for cuttings can generally be made by mixing many kinds of potting soil. Here, sand and wood shavings are chosen, because sand is relatively easy to obtain and can be found at construction sites and riverbanks. After bringing the sand back, first rinse out the impurities and mud in it.

After washing the sand, sift it first to remove the coarser sand and stones.

The basic principle for selecting camellia cuttings is: thin and long, thick and short. Gardeners should try to cut slender branches longer and thicker branches shorter. Generally, the cut length is about 10 cm. If cut too short, sprouting will be relatively slow.

When inserting the branches, be sure to first find a piece of iron wire, a chopstick, or a twig about the same thickness as the cutting, poke a hole in the soil, and then gently insert the camellia branch, to avoid friction between the cutting and the sand affecting the cutting result.

Generally, after all the camellia branches have been inserted, it is recommended to water the sand medium thoroughly so that it fits tightly around the cuttings. Then place the pot with the cuttings in a shady place for care.

After camellia cuttings are taken, rooting is fast in as little as two months (spring), and slow rooting may take about three months. The roots of camellia cuttings are all fibrous roots when they first grow out; they belong to a fleshy root system and are very tender, requiring about one month of care for them to become woody and adapt to the growing environment.

During the care period, if the weather is clear and the temperature is relatively high, the medium will dry out relatively quickly, so spray water in a timely and appropriate manner.

Camellia cutting time and method

a. Camellia cutting time: Camellia can be cut all year round, but the best time is autumn and spring. Cutting in winter also requires keeping warm, and the difficulty is too high.

b. Cutting medium: It is best to choose loose plain soil (such as pure loess), and coarse vermiculite can also be used as a cutting medium. Do not use a medium containing humus, otherwise it is very easy to burn the newly grown roots.

c. Branch selection: one-year-old, semi-lignified branches. This kind of branch has the best vitality and is the most ideal cutting. A branch length of about 10 cm is best, keeping two or three leaves; large leaves should be cut in half to reduce water evaporation.

a. Mixing mud slurry: Add water to pure loess or red soil to make mud slurry, and according to the instructions, add carbendazim and rooting powder. Carbendazim can kill pathogens on the surface and inside the branches, while rooting powder can effectively increase the probability of rooting.

b. Dipping in mud slurry: Here is our little trick. Dip the base of the camellia branch into the prepared mud slurry. This layer of mud slurry can play a very good role in sterilizing and promoting rooting.

The method is also very simple: dip the bottom 3 to 5 cm of the branch in the mud slurry to coat it with a layer of mud. After about half an hour, when it is slightly dry, repeat this step. Generally repeat two to three times, until the base of the branch forms a ball shape like the one below.

c. Cutting: Dig a small hole in the medium and bury the branch in it. Never insert the cutting directly into the medium, as this makes the mud ball easy to fall off and prevents it from protecting and promoting rooting. After watering thoroughly, place it in a ventilated place not exposed to direct sunlight. If cutting in winter, warmth is needed for rooting.

This kind of cutting can make your later management simpler; generally watering once a week is enough. The mud slurry wrapped around the base of the branch can speed up camellia rooting by about one month, and generally rooting can occur in two months. The earlier the rooting, the higher the possibility of branch survival. Therefore, this method can also greatly increase the survival rate of camellia cuttings. After rooting, once the camellia grows three to five leaves, it can be transplanted into a pot for normal care.

1. Cutting time: Taking the Fujian region as an example, most are inserted into seedbeds in nursery fields from June 10 to 30, and clay pots or wooden boxes can also be used as containers for cuttings.

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 with substantial tissue, complete leaves and plump leaf buds as cuttings, 8 to 10 cm long, with 2 leaves kept at the tip.

3. Cutting branch trimming: When cutting, keep a little old branch at the base if possible; after insertion it easily forms callus tissue and roots quickly. Cuttings should be cut in the early morning and inserted as soon as they are cut.

4. Cutting method: Insert about 3 cm into the seedbed medium. When cutting, the leaves are required to overlap each other, and after insertion press firmly with fingers. When cutting, use a 0.4% to 0.5% indolebutyric acid solution to dip the base of the cuttings for 2 to 5 seconds, which has an obvious effect of promoting rooting. Shallow insertion is better, as it allows ventilation and faster healing and rooting.

5. Management after insertion: The cutting seedbed needs shading, and the leaves should be sprayed with water every day to keep them moist, with the temperature maintained at 20 to 25°C. About three weeks after insertion, healing begins, and roots form after six weeks. When the roots are 3 to 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 branch, transplantation can be carried out.

6. Survival and transplanting: Surviving cuttings can generally be transplanted from mid-September to early October of the same year. If not transplanted at this time, waiting until March of the following year for transplanting is even better. This way, more roots can grow in the original place, and the survival rate after transplanting will also be higher. At this time, it also coincides with another growth period of camellia, which has many benefits for growth and development. One thing to note: if the cutting medium used is river sand or rice husk ash, after rooting and growing leaves, it should be transplanted and divided as early as possible, because these media lack nutrients, and over time they will affect the growth of the surviving seedlings in the nursery.