Camellia - home care, photo

Homeland of Camellia (Camellia) Philippines, grows in the Asian tropics and subtropics, like an evergreen shrub or small tree. In closed residential premises, offices and halls, it is grown as a decorative leafy, beautifully flowering plant. The height of the bush can vary from 50 cm and above, or a tree - from 1 to 3 m.

Camellia leaf blades are leathery, dense, glabrous, shiny, dark green, attached to short petioles, one or two to one. They are ovoid, elliptical in shape, broad, pointed or rounded. Leaf length from 6 to 8 cm. Spectacular camellia flowers with many stamens are painted in various colors, sometimes very variegated.

See also how to grow gloriosa and camellia.

Beneficial features

Camellia brings not only aesthetic pleasure during the period of mass flowering, but also has other useful qualities:

• It gives positive energy, contributes to the normalization of relations between family members and harmony in intimate relationships.
• Essential oil from leaves is used in cosmetology and medicine.
• A decoction of the leaves gives the hair when rinsing shine and silkiness.
• After special processing, young leaves are used for tea production.

Features of home care

Care for camellia at home

In order to get a healthy bush and plentiful flowering, it is necessary to provide constant care, a certain microclimate.

Flowering camellia

Camellia reacts to proper care at home with abundant, prolonged flowering. The period of its beginning in different varieties is different and can last from November to March. Some buds may open and bloom for 3 to 4 weeks. Well preserved in cut. Petals are widely oval or rounded, have a wavy edge and are located in one or more tiers. In the center is a bunch of numerous stamens ending in large anthers. The size of the flowers in different varieties is in diameter from 4 to 15 cm. The color also differs in variety and can be monophonic or motley.

Temperature mode

Relation to air temperature depends on the season. In the summer, it can be higher, but for the formation of healthy buds, cool conditions are required (+16 - 18 ° С).

The color is good and does not drop the camellia buds at home at an even lower temperature (about + 12 ° C).

Spraying

To maintain optimal humidity, daily spraying with small droplet spray on the leaves is used. Water on buds and flowers is not allowed.

Lighting

Camellia flower at home for good growth and full bloom requires enough bright light, in this case, the sun's rays should be refracted, not directly falling on the leaves. Before tying the buds, you can turn the pot to the window in different directions. A plant with buds is left alone and not moved.

The tricks of growing room camellia. Video

Watering camellias

The soil is kept in a moderately moist state, for which regular abundant watering with cool, soft water is carried out. Twice a month, the water is acidified with lemon juice (a few drops). It is advisable to use containers with moist expanded clay or pebbles, on which the pot is installed, to moisten.

Soil for camellia

The composition of the soil should provide good air exchange and water permeability. Heavy soil contributes to stagnation of water and acidification of the soil, so it is better to use high peat, leafy, sod, coniferous soil with the addition of sand and humus. The soil should be slightly acidic, which is why peat is periodically poured into the pot or acidified when watering. Reduce the amount of moisture from July to September to inhibit the growth of shoots and stimulate the laying of flower buds.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

It responds well to organic top-dressing. Adult plants change the upper part of the soil, add fresh peat and humus.

Within a year, after 18-20 days, a solution of complex mineral fertilizers for orchids (1 g per liter) is used with watering.

Camellia transplant

Domestic camellia does not need frequent interference in her life. A transplant is carried out as necessary, when the volume of the pot ceases to correspond to the size of the bush. It is enough to transplant an adult plant in the spring every 3 years, and annually update the topsoil.

Pruning

During the growing season, inspect the bush and remove damaged leaves and weak shoots, faded buds, pinch the ends of the shoots. At the end of flowering, part of the shoots is cut, stimulating the laying of new flower buds.

Camellia propagation

The process of reproduction is quite painstaking and lengthy. More often they use vegetative methods - cuttings and grafting, but seeds can also be sown.

Propagation by cuttings

Cut off at an angle the upper part of a healthy semi-woody cuttings, having from 3 to 5 well-developed leaves. The length of the handle can be from 8 to 15 cm. Before planting, the leaves are removed. The handle is treated with root, planted in a container filled with a mixture of peat with sand or perlite. Sheathed with polyethylene to create a greenhouse and kept at a temperature of +20 -25 ° C, constantly maintaining humidity and ventilating.

The process of root formation can take from 2 to 6 months. When transplanting next year, pinch the rooted shoot, stimulating the formation of side shoots in this way, and after 3-4 years - flower buds. The best time for grafting is January or July.

Growing Camellia from Seeds

This is a fairly long, requiring constant maintenance of a certain microclimate, method of reproduction of camellia. When growing camellia through sowing seeds, the species's specific features are preserved, but flowering occurs only after 5-7 years. Seeds are sown in fertile soil from a mixture of peat and sand and for germination are kept under glass or film in a warm place. In the future, seedlings dive.

Diseases and Pests

Violation of the microclimate in the room leads to deterioration and even death of the plant:

• Rotting roots with chronic excess moisture.
• Buds fall with prolonged drying of the soil, a sharp fluctuation in temperature and mechanical stress.
• Gray spots on the leaves camellias are signs of fungal diseases.
• Brown spots on the leaves camellias - the result of waterlogging or sunburn.

In dry air conditions it can be damaged by a spider mite, whitefly. Dangerous pests are also bugs, scale insects and thrips.

Types of home camellia with photos and names

The most common three types of camellia are:

• Mountain or Miyagi;
• Chinese or tea bush;
• Japanese

They are distinguished by a variety of colors, the shape of flowers and petals, their number and texture, as well as the number of buds. The most popular varieties of Japanese camellia that are available to grow have the following characteristics.

Camellia Double White

Snow-white, spherical, terry flowers have perfect symmetry. Smooth petals are slightly wavy along the outer edge. The leaves are elongated, glossy.

Camellia Giulio Nucci

It has raspberry petals of several types: round or elongated, small, sometimes curled into curls inside a flower. Numerous stamens are yellow or white with yellow anthers.

Camellia Margaret Davis

The variety is two-color, semi-double. The flower consists of two types of petals: rounded along the edge and narrow, white inside. They are located tightly to each other. Rounded white petals have a pink or red border around the edge. Some varieties have raspberry specks.

Camellia Lady Campbell

Tall (up to 1.5 m), well-branched shrubs with dark green, shiny leaves and double, peony-like flowers of bright red color. The flowers are large, up to 10cm in diameter. Leaf blades are sometimes covered with slightly noticeable white stripes.

Watch the video: How to grow Pink Snow Sasanqua Camellia with a detailed description (April 2024).