It's finally time at the end of June. Then you can propagate your camellias by cuttings. But be careful: you have to pay attention to a few important things.
Camellias belong to the tea plant family and are originally native to East Asia. But the beautiful plants are also widespread in Europe and have been very popular as ornamental plants since the 19th century. So popular, in fact, that some can't get enough of these beautiful plants. It can be helpful if you know how camellias can be propagated.
Camellias can be propagated by cuttings
Camellias are mainly propagated by cuttings. To do this, you need to prune the camellia while it is dormant, when a new shoot has just emerged. The optimal time has come when the so-called terminal bud has divided and the plant bark has turned a little olive. So it should be the end of June.
Sometimes you can also stick older cuttings that are already a bit woody. It is only important that this is done before flowering in winter.
You need:
- Indoor Greenhouse
- sharp knife
- Substrate
- Heating Mat
- Rooting Hormone
And this is how it's done:
1Choose young, not yet fully woody shoots and cut them off at an angle. The cuttings should be about 10 to 15 cm long. Then remove about half of the leaves so that only three leaves remain.
2Now take the cuttings and dip them in rooting powder. This will ensure that the cuttings root faster. As a rooting hormone, we can recommend Seradix, for example, which is available in garden centers.
3Then you have to put the cuttings in sterile substrate. This should primarily consist of peat, sand and a pinch of lime per liter of substrate. As an alternative, you can also use Seramis. It is permeable and reliably stores moisture over a longer period of time.
4Now it is important that you take good care of the camellias. You must have the substratee.g. always keep moist. In addition, the humidity must be around 70 to 80 percent. You can do this with a foil hood, for example. Furthermore, a constant soil temperature of approx. 25 degrees is important for the growth of the cuttings. Therefore, always place a heat mat under the propagator.
Provide the right conditions and the cuttings will root in about eight weeks. After about three growth spurts, the cuttings will flower.