Camellia Propagation

Does anyone know how this is done? Is there more than one way?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

pawny

Hi Pawny.

I was interested in the same thing. See post #4205550 by kathy_ann. There is lots of great information there. I can't wait to take my cuttings!

~Angela

Mike (mqiq77) in GA is the one to ask. It seems to be one of his expertises.

Gita

You can make a Sweat Box from a plastic Sweater box. First cut 15 x 3/4" holes in the plastic bottom and lower sides of the 18" x 12" clear box for drainage. then filll he bottom of the container with a blended mixture of 1/3 pine bark mulch x 1/3 1/4 " pea gravel and 1/3 peat moss. Pass enough water thru the mix to have the mix wet but not soggy.
Take your cuttings from the ends of branches of the plant. Take ones without buds and make the cuttings about 4" long and the diameter of a pencil. Make the end cut on a diagonal and 1" above the end of the cutting make a 1" side slice thru the stem and just into the Cambium layer . dip the end of the cutting in a rooting hormone such as "Dip and Grow" and push the cutting down 1 1/2" into the rooting mix in the bottom of the plastic box.
Place the box under flourescent lights or in a bright window on the North side window sill. cover the box with a clear top. Water very sparingly only when the soil mix seems dry. The cuttings will take from 6 weeks to 6 months to root depending on the parent plant from which you took the cuttings. When you think they may be rooted tug gently on the stem and if there is resistance look for roots which have formed and if so pot up the now rooted cutting in an individual pot and place it in another sweater BOx with some water in the botom 1/3 inch of the box and again as before keep the boxes in good light but out of any direct sun. when the cuttings have sentb out nrw branches treat them as any new rooted cutting you may have purchased before.

This is from Stonoriver in the Carolinas forum.

Wow you guys!!! Thanks so much for all of your help!!! My girlfriend thanks you too:-)

pawny:-)

To answer a question, yes there is more than one way to root camelias, but you have enough info to complete the process.I like the bucket idea, that makes a lot of sence.Personally I try never to have more than three leaves, and always cut the leaves with steral sisors, so that can still transpire, and develope roots.Mike

Some clarification points here; the "bucket brigade" has worked very well for me (about 90% rooted cuttings), but I've noticed some postings on other Forums where the common "Builders sand" may have some salt and other contaminants that could mess things up. I've got to make a bunch of cuttings this spring, and I'm going to flush the sand real well before I stick the cuttings in there. Also, I called the covering I used "plastic wrap", which some might translate as the common "Saran" wrap. It's not! I used the (also common") 4 mil. plastic sheets painter's use as "drop cloths", and just cut a piece to size. The point is just to create a "closed environment" that lets light reach the plants, but retains moisture.
I drilled 20 1/4" holes in the bottom of the bucket for Camellias. Different plants may require more or less, depending on their need for moisture (Camelias like it!).
And I lied about the "...then forget about them" part! I checked them daily for the 1st week, found no problems, so I skipped to every other day. Still no problems (Fungal or drying out), so I just started checking them weekly. Then I really did "forget about them", because the plants all (mostly) appeared healthy. I pulled the 3 cuttings that were obviously not going to make it in week 7 and donated them to the compost pile... all the others came through just fine, and are 3' tall and blooming in the ground, even as we "speak"...

If you have a camellia in your yard you can bend the branches to the ground and place a brick over the limb. I lightly scratch the wood that will be touching the ground. Put leaves over the limb and then put the brick on top of it. Water every now and again and just wait until you see new growth. The more of the branch you can get touching the ground the better.

This also works for azaleas and gardenias.