camelia seed propagation

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rylaff Niceville, FL(Zone 8b) Oct 29, 2005

Has anyone successfully propagated camelia seeds? Every year my camelia bush makes a couple of seeds. Not sure how to go about this.

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downscale_babe surfside beach, SC(Zone 8b) Oct 30, 2005

I am trying to do this,now.

Camelliagirl told me not to let the seeds dry out.To plant them either in the ground or in small pots and cover them with 1 inch of soil.Keep them moist.

If you want to see her posting it is on this forum on the page before this one and is about the tea plant.Sorry That I don't know how to hyper-link it.

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rylaff Niceville, FL(Zone 8b) Oct 30, 2005

Thanks. I will go look for it.

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camelliagirl Savannah, GA Oct 31, 2005

rylaff,
Camellias are easy to grow from seed. The neat thing is that all seedlings are different from the plant that they came from. This is how we get over 99% of the new camellia varieties. Grow your seedlings. If you like the flower and plant, you can name it whatever you want. It will take usally 4-5 years or longer before the seedling will bloom. It's like raising a child. You don't know what they will be when they grow up!

If you don't have time to plant the seed now, take one sheet of a paper towel, wet it, and squeeze all the excess water out of the paper towel so that it is moist, but not wet. Put the paper towel in a zip-lock bag, and put you camellia seed in the bag on the paper towel. Seal it, and put it in the refrigerator. The seed can stay in there for up to 4 years, but it would be best to plant them at least by spring. Sometimes, they will sprout in the refrigerator.

When you plant the seed, place them in a small pot with moist planting soil. Cover them up with about 1 inch of planting mix. They will germinate when the conditions are right. After they have germinated and you are ready to plant them in the soil, pinch the very tip of the tap root to encourage root branching. Be very patient and wait for the day that you have your first bloom. I guarantee that it will be worth the wait!

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rylaff Niceville, FL(Zone 8b) Oct 31, 2005

Do I soak it first? Do I remove the hard shell or crack it? Or do I plant the whole thing?

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camelliagirl Savannah, GA Nov 01, 2005

rylaff,
You can soak the seed in water over night. Also, you can lightly crack the seed shell. I usually just plant the seed without soaking or cracking them.

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rylaff Niceville, FL(Zone 8b) Nov 01, 2005

Cool . Thanks!!!

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