I have been growing, propagating and enjoying Camellia Japonica and Camellia Sasanqua for years and would love to discuss them with other camellia lovers.
I am happy to share what has worked for me and what hasn't. I love to try new ways to multiply them and would love to trade or share any varieties that I have with other enthusiasts.
Join in and let's talk camellia
I'm here , I'm here. Thanks for starting this Linda, I do have some questions regarding the cuttings you sent to me.
I put them in water and they are looking just fine and the buds are getting really bigger, just in water. Of course I change the water every other day or so, but I wanted to get them in soil and I do not want to disturb the buds.
I am wondering, if I plant them, will the buds fall off. Also, they are a good 7 to 10 inches in length, should I be cutting them in half and making two cuttings of them, or should I plant them as one big cutting. I know very little about camellias, but when i read about cuttings etc. in the NC State Univ. Horticulture info, it said cut off all the leaves except for the top two and then cut them in half. I did that to mine and I think those are just fine. But, these big beauties, I am afraid to mess with. Help me decide please. You plant them deep too, maybe that is why I should not cut them off. Decisions, Decisions. LOL
JB, if they are in water, leave the buds on until after they bloom. ( that will be a treat). Before you put them in soil, take off all but the top 2 or 3 leaves and cut them in half. Then stick them in soil. You can cut them in 1/2 as long as there are 2 growth buds. If they are sasanqua, the buds will be lateral,( on the side of the stems). If they are japonicas, the growth bud will be at the tip. The sasanqua have smaller leaves and are more tolerant of full sun. The japonicas have the larger leaves and tend to like dappled shade. They will be shallow rooted, so I wouldn't plant them too deep. Don't be afraid, I have more cuttings if you need them.
Linda
ok, That sounds good. They were C. Japonica "Grace Albritton".
I printed that post out so I can remember what you told me.
I planted the Bird of Paradise immediately and they look super good. The Gardenia radicans are not looking very happy. They are still in water. Maybe I should have planted them by now. Again, they are tall and I am not used to tall cuttings. Need advice there too.
The Plumeria lost its leaves but it is not dead. The cactus are fine and in soil. I am trying to keep everything alive. It is very difficult. The temps. went down last night and the heater in the GH could not keep up at the setting I had it and the temp in the GH went down to 45 for awhile. Thank God it did not hurt anything. Today it is up to 90 in there. Sun in bright and all the doors and vents are open. Impossible to keep a steady temp and humidity with this kind of crazy weather.
Must get out and do something constructive. Later. Thanks for your help.
Anytime JB. I think most of your tropicals can handle pretty much anything above 40. I don't have to worry about humidity so the only suggestion I have is pebble trays. The bird of paradise are such pretty plants. I have some more, I will list them in the spring, or add them to my availability for the spring. It is in the 50's here at night and 70's during the day. It is wonderful!
This is what Grace Albritton will look like when she blooms. Enjoy,
What a beauty. I can't wait. Thanks again.
I've copied and pasted the beginnings of this thread from the Holiday Cactus thread. Hope no one minds.
JB wrote:
My Camellias are all setting buds now. I am so excited. I took cuttings in August and some of them are going to make it. Yahoo. I love Camellias. Have a good evening. I am out of here. JB
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Gitagal:
CAMELIAS!!!!!!!!! i HAVE ONE--AND IT IS GORGEOUS!!! Variety--"Bob Hope"...
PLEASE tell me what you do to root cuttings.. When" How? In what?
My Camellia "guru" has always been Mike Quinn in GA, I have sent him boxes-full of cuttings.
He seems to know how to propagate them.
Two years ago--I cut back my Camellia to the nubs. On Mike's advice.
They were having some kind of fungusy leaf issues that would kick in the middle of winter...
I have photos...bur won't hog the space here to post them.
Mike told me to cut back my Camellia severely and let it re-grow.
It has been re-growing--but there are no buds on it for next year. Still re-growing...
I want to take some cuttings of it next spring. Missed out on it this summer. always meant to--but never did.
Now the new growth has become "woody". Have to wait until late next summer to take cuttings.
Here is how it looked after I cut it back.
Thumbnail by Gitagal
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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JBerger:
At least the camellia is not dead. You keep it outside all year. I guess we should either go to the camellia forum or start a thread on them because they are very interesting and nice plants for indoors and out. What do you think?
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ibartoo:
Camellias are very easy to root, they just take a real long time. Gita, here is a post on my blog I did for JB and a couple of others about camellias. http://sandypetals.blogspot.com/2011/03/if-you-cut-it-will-i... check it out. It may help. I was about to experiment with some hardwood cuttings from my camellias because I didn't get but a few started during the summer.
I am game for a camellia thread. I have 3 camellia sasanqua blooming today and my camellia japonica are full of buds. I will take some pictures later and post some for you.
Linda
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JBerger:
Linda, go ahead and start one since you are the real expert on camelias. I need to discuss the cuttings you sent me too. Please Please Please. Gita is busy tracking down garden critters and helping me here on the cactus thread. If there a forum for that thread or could we do it here on this forum?
Just checked the Communities list and there is no Camellia that I could find. Did it quickly. So, why not start it right here in this forum?
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ibartoo:
Ok JB, I don't mind starting one. I don't know that I am an "expert", but I have been growing them for at least 25 years. I will check to see if there is a forum too.
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JBerger:
What a great time we will have...camelias and christmas Cactus. Life is good. LOL
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ibartoo:
I agree and both will be blooming very soon. Tis the season
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Gitagal
ibartoo---G0O FOR IT!!!!
I will be a regular--I promise. I only have ONE camellia "Bob Hope", but, oh boy, is she a beauty!!!
Gita
Thumbnail by Gitagal
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ibartoo:
Oh Gita, that is beautiful! I have professor sargeant, but I don't have Bob Hope. Years ago ( in what seems like a different millenium) I managed a landscape nursery. I had just bought my property at the time, so I think I worked for plants more often than money. I have some gorgeous varieties tho. Camellias and Azaleas both. The others I have collected over the years. I try to keep something in bloom through out the year and the camellias and sasanquas sure brighten the winter.
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Sorry, couldn't get pics to transfer over
This about "catches" us up.
Judy
This message was edited Oct 23, 2011 7:45 PM
This message was edited Oct 23, 2011 7:49 PM
Great Judy, thank you so much. This is what we need . I love organization. That Bob Hope is one pretty camellia.
I just got a catalog from Camellia Forest Nursery. What a great book. I am going to have to read up on these and seriously think about doing some propagation is they are not patented. Thanks again Judy. JB
Maybe Gita and Linda would print those pictures over here on this thread so we can keep them all together. How about it ladies. Please.
I will post pics of my varieties later today. I have to get some work done on my pickup this am.
Thanks Judy, for putting us all in 1 place.
JB, some of the camellia varieties are 200 years old or more. I met the botanist from Magnolia Gardens in Charleston and they have an unbelievable collection. They have a lot of the ancient varieties. I was hoping to trade cuttings with him but something happened and the cuttings were never traded. I need to get back in touch with him.
These are exceptionally long lived plants. They could only be better if they were fragrant.
I have some fresh seeds if anyone wants to try growing them from seed. I will be happy to share.
I have to get going, but I will check in later today. Hope everyone has a great day.
Linda
There is only one other problem with raising camellias.............they take so long to mature.......like Bird of Paradise. I am too old to wait three or four more years for a plant to bloom. I am not kidding. LOL At my age I need instant flowers. NO SEEDS for me Linda Honey. HA! You know I can not do seeds. That is a standing joke around people who know me. They do not believe I can not grow seeds. But it is a proven fact.
Here is my April Tryst. It is a wonderful plant. I bought a mature plant because they are such slow growers and I wanted a house plant I could enjoy. I have had two years of enjoyment so far. Love it.
Linda, you are so right, fragrance would be nice since the flowers are so beautiful.
JB, Seeds are easy! soak them over night and then sow them in ziplock baggies. By the time they reach the top of the baggie, they are ready to transplant.
I promised yesterday to post pics. Here are some I had on my computer from last year. I will take new ones as they bloom this year and post them in a sequence.
This one is Camellia Japonica Jean Clere. It is hardy to zone 8 and was hybridized by RH Clere in 1969.
This message was edited Oct 25, 2011 10:45 AM
Camellia Japonica Lemon Glow. It is hardy to zone 7.
This gorgeous camellia is hardy to zone 7a and is a mid season bloomer. It is breathtaking in person.
Professor Sargent is a gorgeous red camellia. It is hardy in zones 7-9 and is a mid season bloomer.
I love this little Mabel Bryan Strawberry Camellia. It is a gorgeous pink and white striped beauty that is kind of a mid- late season show stopper. It was hybridized in 1968 by ST Bryan. It is hardy to zones 7-8.
Mary Alice Cox has to be 1 of my all time Favorite Camellias. It was hybridized by Neal Cox who was the care taker for Arcadia Plantation and then named after his wife. I had the honor of meeting Mr. Cox and learning from him when I managed the nursery. I could have followed him around and listened to everything he said about camellias. It was hybridized in 1966.
Camellia Margaret Davis. This one is a mid to late season bloomer, hybridized in 1961 in Austrailia. I love the pink edge.
Camellia Japonica Les Murtaugh. It is a double formal peppermint striped bloom that is stunning. Hardy to zones 7-9.
Camellia Japonica Grace Albritton. Double formal bloom, early to mid season. hardy to zones 7-9
Camellia Japonica Variegata
Red and white peony shaped bloom . This one is a very old variety. Hardy 7-9. mid season bloomer.
I will be back later with pics of some sasanquas that are blooming now. The biggest differences in the Japonica and Sasanqua varieties are that the Sasanquas have much smaller leaves and are usually more tolerant of the sun. The flowers are smaller and Sasanquas tend to be fall or winter blooming and Japonicas bloom later in the spring. With a variety of camellias and sasanqua you can have flowers beginning in October and lasting through April.
Gotta run, I will check in later.
Linda
Having all those beautiful flowers in your yard would be like heaven. Wow, I think I will move to SC. I would never get up in a bad mood if I had that kind of beauty in my garden. I am so jealous. WAAAAAA!
Come on Down JB! I guess the neat thing is that they don't all bloom at once. I would go crazy if they all started and finished at the same time.
If I had it my way I would have been there by now. LOL Kids have a way of changing your lives as you get older.
I love my kids, but I hate this weather here when it gets really cold and icy. Winter is fun but not when it turns to ice and I do not want to fall.
I picked one up earlier this summer. It was damaged and sold for clearance. It came along very nicely till last month when it started dropping leaves like crazy and the stems died back. All but one small section. It seems to be coming back a bit but most of it is dead. It was in a pot and I doubt I will bother to bring it in this fall. I just have too many other plants to come inside. I sure do like them though.
HollyAnnS, sometimes camellias get a virus called die back. One part of the plant seems to start dying for no apparent reason. The best thing to do is cut off all of the dead parts and let it rest. Then begin feeding it again in the spring. They like acid soil and mulch. not too much water, but let it get established before it endures drought conditions. I would also suggest re-potting it because the fungus/virus that causes die back lives in the soil.
Hope this helps,
Linda
This was my problem with my camellia back in 2009. I may have already started in 2008.
Some time--in mid winter--the previous year's growth would get looking like this.
By summer--all the bad leaves would have fallen off.
It sure looked like a fungus--but I have NO idea what?????
This went on for about 3 winters--and them I contacted Mike Quinn in GA as to what to do.
He advised me to cut my whole Camellia bush back to about 14". I did.
It had re-grown wonderfully--but there are NO bloom buds on it for next year.
I understand--it is re-growing--so i am NOT expecting miracles. The leaves, so far, look great.
I never had any real information on what happened to this plant to cause this. Any answers here????
Here are some pictures of the affected leaves.
Here are some of the affected leaves that I picked off and took a picture of....
Another close-up of the bad leaves.
This shows the shrub in the early summer, when it usually blooms.
As you can see the bare branches throughout--this is because the affected leaves have now fallen off-leaving the stems bare.
The new growths seem OK. It is the previous year's growths that always got this crud and then fell off...
Eventually--this affected the entire appearance of the shrub--it got all lanky and bare-looking.
That is when I cut it back.
Another view----same old---same old.....
Your opinions please. Thanks.
As I said earlier--the shrub is re-growing wonderfully. The leaves are aall A-OK! It has grown now to about 5'.
NO flower buds--but that is OK.
Tomorrow, I will show you a picture of what the shrub looks like now...To me--it is perfect!
I just have to, either, take a new photo or find one I took earlier this year.
I vote for tomorrow---bedtime for me now.....Gita
Here is a close-up of the bloom from a few years ago--just amazing!!!!! Had to show this off.....
BTW--The "Bob Hope" camellia was developed in the USA in 1972. Says it is the darkest of all the reds.
It's parentage is C. Japonica Saluensis X C. Japonica Reticulatus.
My info says that the earlier flower was obtained through Japonica species C. Sasangue.
The Bob Hope grows 6'-8' high and wide.
I am just letting you all know the facts as I have them. I do not know anything else, personally....
Here is a close-up of the bloom.....
I love that Bob Hope. Wow , how beautiful is that?
Two years ago both of my camellias got a brownish looking mite of some sort I forget what they called it, on the leaves. I ask for help on DG and did what I was told, again, i forget what that was, but I got rid of the problem and it never came back.. I must try and remember what that was because it can really sneak up on you quickly and take over the entire plant. I hate senior moments. LOL JB
Thanks Linda at first I thought it might be spider mite but I realized that wasn't the problem.
I just remembered , I think it was Tea Scale or thrips.............anyhow, it was a brownish scale and it started under the leaf. So. keep an eye open for anything like that. Bartlett Tree Research Lab has a site where they have Plant Health Care Program. You can get instructions on how to care for your camellias at every time of the year from Winter thru the following Fall. I do not have the link but I am sure if you google them you can find it if you are interested. If not, I will try and scan it and forward it to anyone who wants it that way. Just another piece of paper to file. LOL JB
Just went out and took this picture.
Everything looks healthy--I just never got to cutting back the longer stems and, maybe, trying to root them.
Now the growth has matured and is all woody.
I would still like to cut the longer branches back to 'shape" the shrub a bit better.
--Can I do it now? How would I go about trying to root some of the cuttings?
--Should I wait until the new growth gets going next summer?
Mike Quinn said the best time to take cuttings is in late summer (like August) when the new, soft growth
starts hardening off but has not yet become woody.
This advice would eliminate me trying to root any cuttings NOW.
Here is a picture of the shrub now. It sits by my front door and gets practically NO sun--maybe the front of it
gets a touch of early morning sun.
It is protected on both sides by large evergreen shrubs--so the winds do not affect it.
The ground is a bit on the wet side (when it rains) as the gutter just above drips somewhat.
Gita
JB--
Thanks--I will Google it....
I looked over the affected leaves very carefully. There was no scale. Thrips i would not see with my naked eye....
This problem did not affect the blooming or new growth. Just the shrub got lanky looking with all the bare stems.
This was taken in May 2010. The shrub is a heavy bloomer--but you can see here how the stems were getting droopy.
Maybe they just grew too long to support the heavy blooms?
Either way--all this added up to me not liking ht looks of it. I cut it down July, 2010.
I would have to say that in just over a year--the re-growth has been spectacular.
Just to carry over this picture from the previous Thread.
Here is my Camellia totally cut back in June of 2010.
Mike wholly approved of it's new look.
Gita, I have always admired your Camellia. I don't think they are hardy in my Zone 6. I will have to look and see if there are any that are. Not like I have a spot for a good size bush right now anyway.
Gita, if you have checked the undersides of the leaves and there is no white "cottony" look to them, then it is most likely caused by a virus.
Tea Scale like the one in the picture can be controlled with an insecticidal spray. ( I like safer by bayer). When the ambient temps are below 70, you can also use something called Volck oil spray. The oil spray will control the insects that cause the scale. I don't like to work with Volck.
The other possibility is the virus and there is really no control that is reliable other than cutting it back and letting it re-grow. You can try giving it magnesium, ( epsom salts ) 2 TBSP/gallon along the drip like of the plant. That will green the leaves up, but it won't help the splotching. The virus is not contagious to other plants, but it will be present in any sport or cutting from that plant.
The last possibility is that all evergreens must replace their leaves. They don't do this all at once, so some of the leaves begin turning yellow and falling off while others seem unaffected. This is just it's natural course. I have gardenias that do this annually.
As for rooting: August is the best time of year, but they can be rooted now as well. What I like to do is set up a forsythe pot and put it in my greenhouse for the winter. I stick the cuttings and keep the water in the center pot and they will survive ( very slowly rooting) until spring when they can be put outside.
I am planning to take some cuttings today, so I will try to show you in pictures what I do.
One other thing you can do to root them this time of year is to take hardwood cuttings after the plant goes dormant for the winter. If there aren't any buds set for next year's growth, you won't have to worry about losing your flowers.
I hope all this is helpful.
I agree with Mike. I have had several that I have had to cut back like that. In your picture with all of the blooms, it looks as though there were so many buds, it weighed the branches down.
Have a great day,
Linda
