Cultivation and propagation of rhododendron red camellia

Rhododendron red camellia, also known as rhododendron tea, or "fake big head tea", belongs to the genus Camellia and is a small evergreen tree. It is named because it looks very much like a cuckoo, but it is actually camellia. Rhododendron red camellia is an extremely rare variety of camellia, which is only found in Ehuangzhang Provincial Nature Reserve in Yangchun County, Guangdong Province. Ordinary camellia has both proud plum style and gorgeous peonies. It has been a very famous woody flower since ancient times and has the reputation of "world famous flower". The beauty of rhododendron red camellia is even more beautiful than ordinary camellia.

Rhododendron Hongshan tea piece is long Obovate, thick, leathery, the leaf surface is bright green, the leaf edge is smooth. The leaves are semi-erect on the branches, almost whorled, like the leaves of a rhododendron tree. The tree has a short crown, smooth branches, red shoots, dense and compact branches and leaves. The flowers of rhododendron red camellia, like rhododendrons, have five petals, and the petals stretch out in a shape very much like that of rhododendrons, but the flowers are larger than azaleas. Candle-shaped buds terminal or axillary, large buds, bright red flowers, long and narrow petals, filaments white, anthers golden yellow, flowers more than 10 cm in diameter. Although it is single, but the flowers are dense, the whole is plump, the four seasons bloom continuously, and even in winter, red flowers are still full of trees. In this paper, the cultivation, management and propagation methods of rhododendron red camellia are briefly introduced.

Cultivation and management

Choose and prepare the land. Choose sandy loam, loess or humus with warm and humic environment, good drainage, loose and fertile soil. The pH value of 5.5-6.5 is the best. When preparing the soil, we should turn it deeply and apply foot fertilizer to make a high border about 120 centimeters wide.

Potted method. Use light loam, that is, furnace ash, alum fertilizer water, concrete. The bottom of the pot is filled with 3 cm thick furnace ash, and then the right amount of basin soil is installed, accounting for 1 big 3 of the pot. Add more water, and plant the seedlings of Camellia with soil into the pot after the water seeps. Usually change the basin soil once a year.

Field management. After the cutting of rhododendron red mountain tea, it is necessary to keep the soil moist and topdressing in time, but not more fertilizer. In the process of management, the flowers were watered alternately with fertilizer and water, the time began to water in spring, gradually increased, decreased in August, and stopped in September. The principle of watering is to be dry and wet. Pruning should not be overweight, properly cut off some sick and weak branches and too dense branches. Rhododendron red camellia is a multi-flowered tree species, which should be thinned properly when pregnant buds.

Breeding method

The propagation methods of rhododendron red camellia are sowing, cutting, striping and grafting. The cutting method is often adopted in the actual production. In addition, in landscaping, as an ornamental flower, camellia and wild camellia seedlings can be used to do a small number of individual propagation.

Rhododendron red mountain tea has many excellent characteristics, such as long flowering period, colorful flowers, high temperature resistance, strong stress resistance, unique leaf shape and so on, so it has high ornamental value and high development value. The survival rate of grafting of rhododendron red camellia has reached 90%, and the survival rate of branch cutting can also reach 40%.