The name of the camellia genus was given in honor of the Moravian priest and naturalist G. Camelius (years of life: 1881 to 1706). He was the first to bring this plant from the Philippines to Europe.
Separate types of camellias have found wide distribution as decorative evergreen, flowering plants. Indoor plants - camellia flowers are used to decorate the interior, when creating expositions in parks, gardens, greenhouses.
In room conditions camellias bloom and can even bear fruit with good care. Camellia is difficult to grow, if growing at home in the room, little light, low humidity, high temperature and soil, which is not suitable for the plant with its composition. Camellia can bloom even in winter, while the temperature does not exceed 12 degrees. The plant blooms for a long time - up to three months. One flower can last up to 4 weeks. Camellia, which is grown as a room culture, is distinguished by 2 periods of its growth. Since February new shoots start to be tied up, and in the summer days vegetative buds are formed. They will begin to grow after the flowering - in the spring months of next year.
Camellia: leaving.
Camellia - flowers that need bright light, but diffused. They are better to grow on windows from the east and west sides. If the pot is placed on the southern window, then the camellia must be shaded from direct light. On the northern side, the plant does not have enough light, and it will not be able to grow normally. To avoid the one-sidedness of the crown, the plant must sometimes be turned to light. But this can not be done when the process of budding is in progress. If you disturb the camellia at this point, it can discard the buds. In summer, camellia should be put on air, but the place should be protected from direct sun exposure.
Plants of this genus in summer and spring prefer a temperature of about 20-25 degrees. To begin to develop flower buds, the temperature regime should not fall below 21 gr. As for the flowering period (December-February), the temperature should be about 10 degrees. But if it is higher, then the camellia will blossom earlier, but the flowers will lose quality, but buds can even fall. A short light day and a temperature of 8 degrees - not a hindrance to the laying of flower buds. Camellia is necessary for fresh air to flow constantly.
In summer, the camellia should be evenly watered, often and abundantly, but we must ensure that we do not fill the plant. In winter, when the content of the camellia goes to a cool regime, water it gently, to avoid souring the substrate. If this happens, then the leaves will become brown, and the buds will fall off. If you long dry the ground in a pot, the plant will discard the leaves. It's bad if there is a lot of calcium in the water.
Camellia needs high humidity in the air. Plants should be regularly sprinkled and put peas on wet pebbles or expanded clay. When the plant blooms, it must be sprayed carefully, so that the water does not fall on the buds.
Once in 21 days the camellia should be fed with mineral fertilizers (1glitre).
In order for the plant to have a normal kidney formation process, a 14-hour light regime and a temperature of about 20 degrees are needed. If the plant is in darkness and at low temperatures, the flower buds will not be laid.
When flowering in December, the camellia should be kept at a temperature of 10 degrees. If the temperature is higher, early flowering may occur, which will negatively affect the beauty of flowers and their size. Buds can even fall. For the same reason, do not move the plant to another place at this time.
In the period from October to the first days of November, it is necessary to trim some shoots in order to stimulate the growth of the axillary buds of the plant.
A young plant must be transplanted every year. Camellia, which blossoms every year, must be transplanted to another pot once every couple of years. Do this in the spring. The tops on the shoots should be plucked in order for the plant to begin to branch better. For camellias, soil with an increased level of acidity (up to 5) is needed.
If you compare a camellia with other subtropical plants, the camellia has unique abilities to grow and feel good on soils of acid type (pH - below 4). The substrate for the plant can be composed of turf (1h.), Peat (2h), heath (2h) types of land and part of sand. Indoor plants that grow in tubs should be transplanted less often, but the earth should be periodically poured. At the bottom should be well arranged drainage.
Reproduction of camellia.
- Fresh seeds;
- Cuttings.
When propagating with seeds, they should be sown in low pots (up to 7 cm), and then, with the appearance of the second leaf, - dive into the pot larger.
If the goal is to grow a plant variety, then it must be propagated by cuttings, because with seed multiplication all the characteristics of the variety are lost. Gardeners are valued varietal camellias, so they are more often propagated with the help of cuttings.
For the propagation of decorative varieties of camellia, cuttings are taken, which have not had time to grow lighter, are apical. Their length should be about 8 centimeters, the soil temperature - 24 degrees. They are propagated in a crate in July and January. The earth for the cuttings must include sand, peat (in part). Cuttings should have up to 5 developed leaves. Cuttings should take root within 2 months. They should be sprayed and watered. Before planting, given the long term of their rooting, they can be soaked in a heteroauxin solution. When the cuttings are rooted, they must be planted in pots, up to 7 cm high. The earth should include sand, ground leaf, sod, peat types. The vaccine should be made on annual or biennial seedlings, and can be done on cuttings already rooted. Watering them should be abundant, and then, to ripen the wood, watering quickly cut.
Varieties that do not take root must be multiplied by grafting. Do this in January with the help of developed kidneys from the top of the shoots. Vaccinations must be maintained at a temperature of 20 degrees. They must germinate in a couple of months. Young plants of camellia should be watered, sprinkled, pritenyat, cut off excess shoots. In the second year, camellias should be transplanted into pots, up to 11 cm high.
When the third year of culture comes, the plant must be transplanted into pots, up to 14 centimeters high. In this case, the land must be composed of sod, peat, sheet, heath types (2 parts each) and one part sand.
The plant can damage the spider mite, which can be treated with the help of ready-made preparations.