The latest culture methods and matters needing attention of camellia

Camellia, also known as Camellia, Camellia, etc., are shrubs or small trees of the genus Camellia in the Theaceae. They bloom for a long time and bloom from October to May of the following year. The blooming period is usually from January to March. Because of their graceful plant shape, bright green leaves and colorful flowers, they are cherished by the horticultural circles of the world. Let's take a look at the breeding methods and matters needing attention of camellias.

Distribution of Origin of Camellia

There are about 2000 varieties of camellias, which can be divided into 3 categories and 12 flower types. Originated in southwest China, it is mainly distributed in the Yangtze River and Pearl River basins of China, Yunnan and Korea, Japan, India and other places. Most of the open fields in central and southern China have been cultivated for 1400 years, while potted plants are planted in greenhouses in the north. There are wild species in Sichuan, Taiwan, Shandong, Jiangxi and other places.

Growth habits of Camellia

Camellia fear the wind and enjoy the sun, the terrain is high and cool, air circulation, warm and moist, good drainage, loose and fertile sandy loam, loess or humus, pH5.5~6.5 is the best. The optimum temperature is between 20 and 32 ℃, stop growing when the temperature is above 29 ℃, and the leaves will be anxious at 35 ℃, which requires a certain temperature difference. The environmental humidity is more than 70%, and most varieties can withstand the low temperature of-8 ℃. In the south of Huaihe River, they can survive the winter naturally and like acid soil, and require good air permeability. The root hair is developed and can usually be cultivated with a mixture of peat, sawn wood, laterite, humic soil or above. Camellias can be shaded in spring, autumn and winter, and 50% shading can be used in summer.

Propagation methods of Camellia

1. Cutting propagation: the cutting propagation of camellias is the most convenient, and the cutting time is the most suitable in September, or in spring. Select the well-growing, semi-lignified branches, remove the basal leaves, retain the upper 3 leaves, cut them into an oblique mouth with a sharp knife, immediately soak the incision in 200~500ppm indolebutyric acid for 15 minutes, dry it into a sand basin or vermiculite basin, water the wound for about 40 days, and take root for about 60 days. The cuttings treated with hormone took root 2-3 months earlier than those without hormone. Vermiculite is used as a slotting bed, and it takes root much faster than a sand bed.

2. Breeding by grafting: choose appropriate varieties such as tea cup tea or Camellia oleifera as rootstock and connect valuable camellias. The connecting time is usually between Ching Ming Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. First plant the rootstock in the flowerpot, cut off about half of the joint with a knife, the incision should be smooth, then make the cut of both sides closely fit, wrap it with plastic film, drench the rootstock twice a day, and heal after 60 days. At that time, it can be cut off and planted in the shade of trees to avoid direct sunlight. In February of the following year, the tail of the rootstock was cut off with a knife and then planted.

3. Leaf cutting propagation: leaf cutting propagation is generally used in camellia propagation, but some valuable varieties are also used because of the limitation of the source of branches or considering that the shape of the tree will be affected after sampling. Using mountain mud as the cutting substrate, it can be mixed with 1 stroke 3 river sand to facilitate ventilation and drainage, and the matrix is stored in a tile basin, and then cut in the basin. Leaf insertion is best carried out in the rainy season, take one-year-old leaves as leaf insertion material, too old is not easy to root, too young and easy to rot. Insert about 2 cm into the soil, press the soil after insertion, pour enough water, and then put it in a cool and ventilated place. Generally, it can take root in 3 months, and it can sprout and branch in the next spring.

4. High-cutting propagation: the most important feature of the high-altitude cutting method is that it can give new life to all the weak twigs on the camellias that should have been pruned. And this method has the advantages of high survival rate, quick rejuvenation and early flowering. The method is as follows: the thin branches that need to be trimmed off are girdled in an appropriate position, and the girdling length can be between 5-8 mm (generally the upper part can be left into 15-25 cm branches). The plastic film of appropriate size is bound, and the disinfected peat soil or rotten leaf soil is added into the film, and after 7 days, the lower part of the plastic film is peeled 5-8 mm, which is called double-ring peeling high insertion method.

5. Tree grafting propagation: grafting propagation of camellia has many advantages, which can maintain the excellent characters of varieties, accelerate plant growth and make it take shape rapidly and produce on a large scale. It is especially important to save panicle strips, especially for those rare varieties with few sources of panicle strips. The suitable grafting time is from June to July, when the new leaves of camellia scion have been unfolded, the temperature is high, the grafting wound heals quickly and the survival rate is high. The grafting method is the cutting method in the grafting method, which is often called "high grafting head" because of the high position of grafting.