Beauty Camellia - Queen of Home Flowers

This beautiful flower is known in almost all corners of the world where plants can live. Many dream of growing it, but then retreat from their venture, having heard from other floriculturists stories that this beauty was not worthy of taming to domestic life. Indeed, a beautiful and proud plant, as evidenced by gorgeous photos, in nature becoming almost a tree, at home for some reason begins to act up and wither. Nevertheless, there are a sufficient number of examples of successful cultivation of camellia in four walls, which means that there are certain rules, following which you can count on the fact that in your home, with proper care, camellia will bloom no worse than under the blue sky.

Description of camellia and its varieties

Japan is called the birthplace of camellia, or rather, the island of Okinawa, where this plant grows to a height of five meters (although Japanese camellia can reach a height of 15 meters), having the form of either a bush or a tree. It is the basis of the local forests, where it receives all the conditions necessary for growth and flowering. However, camellia can be found in Indochina, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Java and the islands of Sulawesi. The home variety of camellia, of course, is not so high, but also takes up a lot of space, so it is not recommended to grow it in apartments with a small area. Its leaves have a rich green color and a glossy surface. The edges of the leaves are very sharp, so it is better to handle them carefully so as not to cut yourself.

In the open, camellias show their full power, growing in huge shrubs and full trees

The flowers are almost always lush, and in some species they can be simple, in others - double. There are camellias with white, pink, dark raspberry and other shades. In other words, this flower is diverse, unique and always gorgeous. But growing it at home is not an easy task, but if you succeed, you can witness the wonderful winter bloom of camellia, which can last up to three months. At this time, the plant is almost completely covered with flowers and is a unique sight.

Camellia has an excellent appearance during flowering, but the flowers in the vast majority of varieties are odorless, with rare exceptions.

And to find out about this exception, you need to consider the main types of camellia grown at home. And this is, first of all, Japanese camellia, mountain, mesh and various hybrids of these species.

Indoor species and varieties

Let's start with Japanese camellia. This is one of the tallest camellias found in the vastness of China, Korea and Japan. The plant reaches a height of 15 meters and above and has pointed leaves, serrate at the edges. Their surface is so glossy that it can glare and reflect the sun's rays. Nevertheless, the most comfortable condition for this flower is partial shade. From Japanese camellia there were many decorative varieties with a variety of colors, and their flowering can begin in October and last until April.

Mountain camellia (otherwise it is called sasanqua) - grows up to 5 meters in height, and its shoots, depending on the variety, can either hang down or be upright. The leaves are more like an egg with a serrated edge. Above they are dark green, but below in the area of ​​the vein there is a slight pubescence. Blossom begins in September and stops in January. And this is the case when the flowers have a pleasant smell. It is gratifying that this species is almost better than many others adapted to living at home.

Reticulated camellia (another name - reticulate) is a species recognized by all florists of the world, in which some varieties have flowers up to 20 cm in diameter. There is a special category of so-called chimeras, the flowers of which have overflows and colored dashes.

It is necessary to highlight the Chinese camellia (tea or tea bush), which can grow both in the form of shrubs and in the form of trees. The ellipse leaves of this species also have a serrated edge, and those leaves that have just opened are covered with a white edge. The flowers in the sinuses are collected in pairs - three pieces and exude a delicate aroma.

You can recall the hybrids of Williams, which were obtained as a result of crossing Japanese and mesh camellias. They are widely used in European countries and, in addition to their beautiful appearance, are distinguished by their enviable vitality.

In brief, it is necessary to mention the rare and original varieties - camellia Middlebury pink (a unique color, quite rare) and red, Olina early flowering (oilseed, blooms in the second half of autumn).

Photogallery of species and varieties of camellia

Conditions of detention

To contain camellia at home, you need to follow the requirements for each season, since the health of the plant depends on it. Even a small deviation from the norm can provoke the onset of the disease and subsequent wilt of camellia.

Table: Camellia conditions at different times of the year

Recently, the so-called florariums have become very popular - compositions from home plants placed in a glass container starting from a decorative glass and pumping into an aquarium. There is also a floor version, which can reach a height of up to two meters. Florariums are divided into closed and open, the first of which are good for tropical plants that love high humidity, and the second for succulents who prefer a dry atmosphere.

It is difficult to attribute camellia to the flowers recommended for cultivation in the florarium - it didn’t come out in size, and caring for it is much more difficult than for many other flowers

Of course, many have the question - how well is camellia suitable for the florarium? A clear and unambiguous answer to this question is difficult to formulate, but one thing is certain with certainty: camellia is an unobvious option for florarium, and there are reasons for that. Firstly, the camellia domesticated, although not a couple of its forest and mountain counterparts in terms of size, still has rather large dimensions, and it can be accommodated only by a very large aquarium or a special glass box, which requires a lot of space and financial costs. Secondly, camellia has its own specificity, which is expressed in the fact that you can constantly keep high humidity far from all year round. Camellia, although it does not like drafts, it needs an influx of fresh air, and during a period of stagnant humidity can quickly get sick. In addition, you will have to regularly monitor the state of soil moisture - at a time when the flower grows buds and begins to bloom, the earth needs to be kept moist at a constant level. But during the growing season, the soil between irrigation can be dried.

The conclusion is obvious: it is much easier and more efficient to grow camellia as an independent plant in a pot. Moreover, not every pot is suitable: the best options are oak tubs or unglazed ceramic pots. Both must be large. In such a capacity, you can quickly move the camellia from light to penumbra, when necessary. And to maintain the desired humidity, you can purchase a humidifier.

Video: Camellia - care and features

Landing and transplanting

You can often hear that the best time to bloom camellia is from November to February. But what about, you say, because at that time the camellia begins to bloom actively, and transplantation can ruin this wonderful phenomenon? In fact, it all depends on the accuracy of your actions. Careless handling of a lump of earth during transplantation can lead to damage and exposure of the roots, which will put an end to all your efforts. As well as careful action will not bring any harm to the flower. If you are afraid to do something with camellia during the flowering period, leave the idea with a transplant at the end of this period. In general, camellia is recommended to be transplanted no more than once every 2 to 3 years. But how to do it right?

Camellia is transplanted infrequently and only when absolutely necessary

First you need to consider what kind of soil camellia loves. First of all, it is light, well-drained and moist soil. In addition, it should be acidic, since an alkaline environment is a fatal phenomenon for camellia. It is hardly better to deal with a soil of neutral acidity.

Of course, the easiest way is to buy ready-made soil mixture - usually they get a composition for azalea or rhododendron, which also develop in an acidic environment. This includes shredded tree bark, horse peat, perlite, sand and vermiculite.

You can prepare the soil yourself, but be sure to consider your possibilities for irrigation. If you are ready to supply moisture to the flower daily, then it will be enough to make a light mixture of perlite and sand, which has excellent aeration. If you can "visit" camellia once or twice a week, then horse peat and vermiculite are added here. These components retain moisture much longer. By the way, there is an opinion that peat can be replaced with finely chopped coniferous bark, since it has a water-repellent property.

As you can see, the preparation of soil for camellia is a separate process, and therefore, immediately be prepared for the fact that the land taken from your garden plot is not suitable for planting. It’s too easy nowhere.

The soil for camellia should be as light and drained as possible so that moisture does not stagnate at the roots

As you already understood, camellia pots should be large. In the lower part, there must be holes for drainage. Sometimes camellia roots tend to protrude from these holes, and in this case, you can trim them or leave them alone - they will dry out themselves. The bottom layer can also be made drainage. For this, gravel and sand are suitable. The only “but” - drainage must be mixed with the ground, planting camellia on it with bare roots is extremely undesirable.

A transplant should be done only if the current pot for the plant is obviously small. If after 2 - 3 years you have not seen obvious changes for the worse (camellia grows rather slowly, so you should not be surprised), then simply change the top layer of the earth (3-5 cm).

The very process of landing and transplanting on paper looks quite simple:

1. Water the camellia so that an earthen lump forms on the roots.
2. We carefully remove the plant from the pot so that the lump does not fall apart and the roots are not damaged.
3. We immerse the camellia in a new pot where the drainage layer has already been prepared (on average about 5 cm, but the thickness may vary depending on the size of the pot), add exactly as much land as needed to fill the empty spaces.
4. Be sure to make sure that the neck of the camellia (the growth point between the roots and the trunk) is not sprinkled with earth - only the roots should go into the soil.

In most cases, camellia has erect shoots and does not need a garter

Most varieties of camellia have erect shoots, and therefore do not need support. It makes sense to use support only if you purchase plants with curly and dangling shoots. But, as practice shows, most often the support is used by gardeners in the garden plots for camellia, which has stems up to three or more meters.

It is only necessary to acquire flowering plants for planting - with careful actions, the flower will not suffer and will continue to bloom further and at the same time quickly take root.

Care, cultivation and maintenance

Only a few aspects, but every grower should know them.

Watering and feeding

Watering is one of the most important aspects in caring for camellia, and here it is important to adhere to three rules:

1. Do not use hard tap water.
2. Do not water with cold water.
3. Avoid excess moisture in the soil.

In the first half of the year (from January to May) it is better to take warm water for irrigation. If there is a need to maintain the desired humidity near the flower, you can spray it without touching the buds and flowers. Also, near the camellia, you can put a wide tank and fill it with water.

Closer to summer, the intensity of irrigation is reduced, camellia is not sprayed, but it is not allowed to dry out the soil under the plant. By the beginning of autumn, camellia is again watered more actively, with warm water, while making sure that there is no overmoistening.

For irrigation, you need to use only soft water, and the tap water must be defended or boiled.

What water is better to use for camellia? Rain and melt water are perfect, but since it is not so easy to get on a regular basis, you have to use tap water. And in this case, it must be defended or boiled so that it becomes softer.

Another very important factor for the growth and development of camellia is timely top dressing. But in this matter, it is important to follow the principle of "do no harm." Fertilizers should not affect the acidity of the soil, and instructions should not always be followed exactly, especially if the fertilizer is not designed specifically for camellia. Camellia is in great need of such chemical elements as nitrogen, sulfur, zinc, manganese, copper, boron, potassium and phosphorus. Eliminate top dressing containing magnesium and calcium - their camellia already receives water from the tap, and an excess of these elements will reduce the acidity of the soil and make it alkaline. For the same reason, manure is not used. But nutritional complexes, as well as fertilizers for azaleas, specially designed specifically for camellia, perfectly help.

It is worth noting that all fertilizers are applied in liquid form and only after moistening the soil.

The best time for feeding is the end of winter and the beginning of spring, when camellia finishes flowering and leaves its dormant state. During this period, active vegetative processes begin, and top dressing is very welcome. The fertilizer application period is ending in July, and it is contraindicated to apply it in the fall, especially if you are trying to acclimatize frost-resistant camellia on your windowsill.

Camellia can be sprayed to increase the level of humidity, but without affecting the colors

Bloom

The most beautiful thing in growing any camellia is its flowering, which begins with the onset of winter. Some varieties also begin to bud in November. During this period, the plant is strewn with flowers from top to bottom.During this period, it is very important to cut off the extra buds so that the camellia does not load itself too much. Of course, she herself will throw off the extra flowers, but at the same time, the rest can be crumbled. That is why it is recommended to leave no more than two buds on each shoot. After flowering, pruning peduncles is not required.

During flowering, it is necessary to monitor the degree of soil moisture: it should not be dry, but at the same time, excess moisture should not be allowed.

It also happens that camellia, with all the efforts of the grower, does not bloom. Either does not form buds, or forms, but discards them. What could be the reason for this phenomenon? The answer is obvious: one of the conditions of the camellia was violated. So that you can quickly and easily find out in the event of such a failure its cause, we highlight the main points:

• The option is doubtful, but still: during flowering, try not to rearrange the flower from place to place and do not rotate it with the other side. Theoretically, a camellia should not react badly to such an interference in her life, but in practice anything can happen.
• The temperature in the room may be higher than expected. As you remember, the optimum in winter is from +5 to + 10 ° C. The limit is + 12 ° C.
• Bright, but diffused light - this is the requirement for illumination in winter, and if it is not fulfilled, the buds may not start at all.
• A lack or excess of moisture will also negatively affect the condition of the flower, and even more so on its flowering. Camellia loves plentiful watering, but not excessive.

Observance of all necessary conditions (without exception) will give green light to bloom, and then the question of the absence of flowers will disappear.

The camellia bloom is truly magnificent, the whole bush is literally dotted with flowers

Rest period

The rest period in camellia begins in winter. At this time, flowering occurs, and the vegetation processes "rest" until spring. You already know that at this time it is important to water the plant regularly, keeping the soil moist, but not flooding it. Also, if necessary, remove extra buds (that is, thin out the camellia) and create such diffuse lighting.

Camellia is a short-day plant that lasts from 12 to 14 hours of light per day. But in winter, such a number of hours simply cannot be typed, and there may not be enough rearrangements on the windowsill on the south side of the house, which means that it is necessary to ensure the illumination of the plant. The best lamps for this operation are the so-called phytolamps and fluorescent lamps. Thus, you have to add the remaining “artificial” clocks to the existing natural light hours. And by good flowering, you will understand that you are doing everything right.

Not every window sill is suitable for camellia, and even the usually desired south side can be fatal to it.

Shaping and trimming

The aerial part should be pruned immediately after flowering, until the camellia has come out of dormancy. The root system is only trimmed during the transplant, if you want to limit its growth and not resort to an increase in the size of the pot.

Camellia is cut weakly and only if necessary

When pruning, weak, dried and spindle-like shoots are usually removed. Thus, the crown is thinned out and thickening is eliminated. In October or November, you can pinch the shoots to provoke active growth of axillary buds. This should not be done before, since camellia actively forms flowers at this time.

To avoid problems, use only a clean and sharpened knife or pruner. The shoots are cut at an angle of 45 ° C, the place for the cut is selected just above the leaf node (4 mm).

Care Errors - Table

Video: why is it difficult to grow camellia and what to do about it?

Diseases and pests - table

Camellia is rarely affected by diseases and pests. Nevertheless, errors in care can sometimes lead to undesirable consequences, the rules of elimination of which you need to know.

Breeding

Of course, the most inquisitive and daring gardeners are interested in how you can propagate camellia at home. This can be done in two ways - seeds and cuttings.

If you decide to use seeds, then keep in mind that only the freshest planting material will do. Due to the oil content, seeds simply will not be able to maintain germination for a long time. The whole process consists of the following steps:

1. Seeds for a day are soaked in a damp cloth and put in a warm place.
2. Each seed can be planted in a small pot (about 5 cm) or in a box at a distance of 5 cm from each other.
3. When two true leaves appear, the seedlings dive, placing in pots with a larger capacity (up to 10 cm).

In the future, you need to follow the traditional rules for caring for camellia, and then the plant will grow stronger before our eyes.

Photo gallery of growing camellia seeds

The second option is the use of cuttings. This method is used much more often, and it is considered more reliable. The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. In January or July, cuttings-tops (6 - 8 cm) are cut off, which did not have time to get lumbery - each of them should have 3-5 full sheets.
2. The cuttings are immediately placed on a substrate of peat and sand (1: 1 ratio).
3. To cuttings had better rooting, use the preparations of Kornevin or Heteroauxin, in the solution of which the planting material is soaked.
4. After planting, the cuttings are watered, the box is placed on the windowsill, where direct sunlight does not fall.
5. Two months later, the cuttings take root, and then they are planted in separate containers and grown for another year, after which they are transplanted again, using larger containers for each of them.

Photogallery of growing camellia cuttings

Home Flower Growth Reviews

The main difficulty is the cold content in winter. For the rest, I did not see any problems, in any case in my conditions, I kept the whole year on the loggia (south), the temperature was from 5 to 40 grams. I fertilized only during the growth period, I stopped doing this from the moment the buds appeared.

The flowers are small, approximately 5cm in diameter. The smell is very weak, I did not like it!

Magnolia

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My camellia is now waved and doubled. After flowering, she simply adds a growth explosion of 10 cm at once. The second flower is twice smaller, it is a mountain camellia sasanqua. She has smaller, thicker, and darker leaves. It grows much more slowly. I don’t do anything with them in terms of pruning. Because I read that camellias do not like this very much. This is the plant that needs to be taken as it is. I did not try to root it with cuttings, I know that it is very long and difficult, and the percentage of survival is small. Although boogie was also said to be difficult, but my boogie and azalea also took root the first time. I definitely can’t say anything here. But I have no desire to cut my beauties.
I forgot to write that sasanqua has a light aroma.

I do not acidify anything, I just water it with boiled water as the top layer dries. Transplanted into a mixture of soil for azaleas and litter from under the pine (it turned sour). 2 times a year after flowering at intervals of a month, I water with a weak fertilizer solution for azaleas of Bon Forte. The main thing is not to transplant during growth and not to deepen the root neck.

In life, this is generally unreal beauty !!! They are not difficult at all, just coolness is needed. And they are also useful - I recently read about the effect of camellias on health and it turns out the sphere of influence of camellias in the body is the heart: the plant supports it in tone and improves the functioning of the heart muscle.

vesna6

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I've also got Japanese camellia. Now, while on the street during the day from +2 to +7 I take it out to the unglazed balcony. At night, and if the temperature during the day is lower than +2, I bring it home. The main thing is not to forget. I spray it with boiled water every night with a spray. Well, the truth is still in specials. a room where the temperature with an open window is about +16 to +18 (sometimes you have to reduce the flow of water in the heating system, but basically this is not necessary. Nothing, it lives. I also want Chinese camellia (tea bush).

Arslan

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I am interested in growing Japanese camellia in an ordinary room. I now have 2 Japanese camellias growing (supposedly the Triomphant variety and Bacciochi ave.). I have been with them since the spring of 2010. Then I washed the roots and transplanted them into the ground for azaleas. Have taken root well. There was an increase, in the summer they laid buds. But in summer it was very hot and smoke from peat bogs was coming. On some leaves the edges are withered. part of the buds has now been dropped, some have the appearance of half-dried. The temperature on the windowsill is 15 floors, where they stand +15, the windows are southeast. And quite actively started to grow. The buds are growing, the leaf has turned around, like a healthy one.

sergey55

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I bought camellia a year ago, also all summer grew on the balcony and gained 10-12 buds. The main problem I had and remains is when to bring it home, so that the temperatures are approximately equal and at home in the fall to create cool conditions. With abundant watering and cold temperatures at night, I got a bay. There are three buds left. One tried to open in November, but he fell down, now there is only one left, he is opening quietly. I keep it on the windowsill for the film. The temperature of 10-15 grams fluctuates, and sometimes lower.
I got the impression that if there is flowering on the windowsills, then it is less plentiful, many buds fall off.
Three people from different regions, for example, camellias end up with one bud! And who has warmed loggias - they’re already spreading photos of camellias with more abundant flowering.

luthik

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Camellia is a beautiful flower that bestows its owner with lush and stunning winter flowering. It is quite difficult to care for, however, if you can meet all the necessary conditions for its cultivation, then you do not want to exchange it for any other. After all, he gives so many pleasant emotions every winter, and you, in turn, can consider yourself a truly skilled and successful florist.