Advice
Camellia cuttings
There are various ways of propagating camellias from cuttings. The most reliable is to use a propagator to provide some bottom heat, preferably thermostatically controlled to keep the rooting medium at a steady 20-21oC (68-70oF). However, cuttings in pots, covered with polythene and standing on a sand tray on a radiator, in a greenhouse or even outdoors in a shady situation against a north facing wall, may often be successful. Some kinds do not root successfully, or may not do so without bottom heat and results can be disappointing, particularly with Camellia reticulata and its cultivars.
Timing
Semi-ripe
cuttings root best. Take them from mid July to mid September,
as soon as the growing season has ended and as the wood is
ripening from green to brown (although in a wet summer ripening
may continue into the autumn). Cuttings can be taken later
but will be slower to root. Cuttings may be nodal or internodal,
but nodal cuttings will produce a flowering plant more quickly.
Types of cutting:
a) stem cuttings - comprising a length of
stem with three leaves, taken just above or just below a leaf.
Remove the lower one or two leaves (but not the growth buds)
then remove a 25mm (1in) sliver of stem from the opposite
side to the lowest bud. This encourages better root development.
b)
tip cuttings - comprising the shoot tip (buds and
one or two leaves) and a short length of stem with two stem
leaves, the lowest of which is removed (but not the growth
bud). As with (a) remove a sliver of stem.
c) leaf bud cuttings - made from short young
growths each comprising a short length of stem topped by a
single leaf and growth bud. As with (a) and (b) remove a sliver
of stem. This is a slower method of plant production than
(a) or (b) but can be attempted later - October to December.
Rooting medium
Amongst
the most widely used are equal parts by volume of peat or
peat substitute and perlite, bark or sharp sand.
Method
Dip the base of each cutting in rooting compound, then insert in the moist rooting medium to the base of the lowest remaining leaf. Water in well to settle the cuttings then, if using a pot, cover with polythene held in position with a rubber band.
The time taken to form roots may vary from two to three months or more. When well rooted begin to admit air and harden off. Pot up rooted cuttings in March or April using a suitable compost. Ideally use ericaceous compost, although peat based multipurpose compost will do.