I want to propagate a Camellia bush, and I'm needing to know if I can propagate one by clipping a small limb and sticking it in a glass jar full of water to root or is air layering it better? I love Camellias and I would love to have lots more than my little two baby ones!! I have two pink bushes and the one I want to propagate is a red one. I also don't know if now is a good time of year to start a cutting or not, but I thought if I start one now it might be ready to plant in the Spring! Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Julie, I found this on propagating cuttings at an American Camellia Society site, where I also found this on air-layering. It appears that both methods are well endorsed by the ACS. As for my own experience, I hate to admit that I failed (time and again) to propagate cuttings of my neighbor's beautiful "Pink Perfection" Camellia. It hurt my feelings, :-? I'm usually pretty successful at that. When I finally did find one for sale, I was more than happy to buy it. I think it would be great to try both methods on the variety you hope to root, maybe one way will work better for you, maybe you'll end up with several new plants.
The best way to do this is to take a low lying branch, scrap the bottom of the branch and weight it down in the dirt underneath the bush with a brick. Leave the branch attached to the bush. After a good root system has formed, clip the branch from the bush and dig up the rooted part and replant. This works with azaleas and gardenias, also with a Seven Sisters rose. Oops, ZZP posted first and I didn't see hers, the way I do it is just an easier way to do it, but probably not as effective.
Thanks so much ladies for the advise!! I'm hoping to have success with the propagation!! I have 3 cuttings in a clear jar on my kitchen window sill for now. If they don't do well I will try the air layering. The red Camellia I'm trying to get to root is a beautiful old fashioned one. I'm guessing this bush (more tree!) is probably about 30-50 years old!! It is about 10 feet tall. It is definately an heirloom! So I'm hoping this really goes well! If not I'll just have to do like Zuzu and buy more. Camellias are rapidly become my favorite bush for my gardens!! Thanks again Zuzu and Cajunbelle!! I'll keep ya'll posted!!
Sounds like a fine plan, Julie, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Actually, I like your way best of all, Sharon, easy = GOOD!
I have several Seven Sisters roses rooted that way, but they did it themselves. The canes got so long they drooped to the ground onto the mulch and I have more roses. I've also got several gardenias started the same way. One is big enough to bloom this year.
camellia i put my cuttings in water with a tiny bit of rooting liquid, affter i leave it for a week i stick it in potting soil, so far three are alive, we'll see, but i havve a question. my light pink camellias have finished blooming and now on some of the branches are some round, hard things that resemble an acorn, are they seeds? Can these be planted after they dry for a while, and if so, does the outer shell have to be scraped or come off altogeather. i have several neighabors with beautiful bushes, i will try to get some of the seeds if that is what it is. does anyone know? thanks tiggies.
It sounds as though you are describing the fruit of a Camellia, Tiggies. Many of mine do set fruit. If you leave it on the shrub, it will continue to grow. Keep an eye on it and sometime later in the summer it will mature. Some of mine even take on a bit of pinkish coloring as they ripen. If you just leave the fruit on the shrub, it will eventually split and spill the seeds that are inside. There are usually between 1 and 4 seeds, by my experience. If you take the fruit off the shrub too soon, before the fruit ripens, the seeds inside will not be viable.
Well, it's not an edible fruit like an apple or an orange, but in the technical sense, that it is the product of a pollinated flower, inside of which you find the seeds, yup, "fruit".
I usually remove the fruits of any shrubs so the energy can be used for growing, not fruiting. Growing a camellia from seed would take years and years, I would guess.
I usually do a lot of mine like Cajunbelle. I just bend a few hairpins to pin down the branch. I do hydrangas and highbush cranberries like this. It is a wonderful Lazy way to go. 8)
