A detailed guide to camellia propagation methods, teaching you how to grow more new plants

The camellia has a graceful crown, bright green leaves, large and vividly colored flowers, and a long blooming period. It blooms right around New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, so what are the camellia propagation methods?

Camellia propagation methods

The propagation methods for camellia include: cuttings, grafting, layering, seed sowing, and tissue culture propagation.

Cutting propagation: mid-June and around the end of August are the most suitable times. Choose current-year semi-mature branches from the outer canopy that are firm in tissue, have intact leaves, and plump leaf buds as cuttings, 8-10 cm long, keeping 2 leaves at the tip. When cutting, keep a bit of old wood 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 immediately after cutting, about 3 cm into the medium; during insertion, the leaves should overlap each other, and press firm with your fingers after inserting. Shallow insertion is best, as this allows air circulation and faster healing and rooting. The cutting bed needs shading, with daily misting of the leaves to keep them moist, and the temperature maintained 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 taking cuttings, 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 root with difficulty from cuttings or when propagation material is scarce. Grafting from May to June, when new shoots have become semi-lignified, gives the highest survival rate, and after successful grafting, buds sprout and shoots grow quickly. The rootstock is mainly oil camellia (Camellia oleifera); seeds are collected in October, stored in sand over winter, sown in early April of the following year, and once 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 plumule portion 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 its lower base into a regular wedge shape. Immediately insert the prepared scion into the bottom of the rootstock split, align the cambium on both sides, bind with cotton thread, and cover with a clean plastic bag. Remove the bag after about 40 days; buds sprout and shoots grow after about 60 days.

Layering propagation: in the plum rain season, choose vigorous 1-year-old branches; at 20 cm from the tip, perform ring barking 1 cm wide, wrap with leaf mold soil and then cover with plastic film. Roots form after about 60 days, and the cut-off layer can be potted directly, with a high survival rate.

Seed propagation: suitable for single-petaled or semi-double varieties. Seeds mature in mid-October and can be sown immediately. Shallow sowing is best, using vermiculite as the medium, covering 6 mm, at room temperature 21°C, with 10 hours of light each night, which promotes 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 it into 1 cm lengths and inoculate them on MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/L kinetin, 1 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine, and 0.1 mg/L indoleacetic acid. After 4 weeks of culture, only callus tissue forms, with no shoots. After transferring to new medium, single shoots 4 cm long begin to form, then soak in 0.5 mg/L indolebutyric acid solution for 20 minutes, then transfer to 1/2 MS medium, and roots grow after 4 weeks. After growing for 8 weeks on the rooting medium, transplant the plantlets into pots filled with perlite and peat.

Next, let's look at camellia cultivation and management.

For potted camellias, 15-20 cm pots are commonly used. The camellia root system is fragile, so take care not to damage the roots when transplanting. For potted camellias, repot every year after flowering in spring or in September-October, prune off leggy or dead branches, and replace with fertile leaf mold soil. Camellias like moisture, but the soil should not be too wet, especially in pots; overly wet potting soil easily causes root rot. Conversely, if watering is insufficient and the soil is too dry, the leaves curl, which also affects flower bud development.

After repotting in spring, camellias do not need immediate fertilizing. After summer begins, during the period of vigorous stem and leaf growth, fertilize once every half month or use "Huiyou" 21-7-7 acid fertilizer. From bud appearance in September to the flowering period, apply 1-2 additional doses of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. In late summer and early autumn, camellias begin to form flower buds; each branch tip should keep 1-2 flower buds, not too many, to avoid consuming nutrients and affecting the blooming of the main flower bud. When removing buds, pay attention to the position of leaf buds to keep the plant shape attractive. At the same time, remove dried and useless buds by hand as you go.