The size of the rhododendron.

The rhododendron is one of the star plants in the garden. It adorns both English and Japanese-style gardens with its abundant blooms. Pruning this elegant shrub is not very complicated.

When to prune the rhododendron?

The time of pruning depends on the flowering period and therefore on the variety of the rhododendron. Let's not forget that the genus is divided into nearly 900 species for a multitude of varieties. For example, Rhododendron arboretum is a real tree that can reach 12 m in height, while Rhododendron camtschaticum has a creeping, spreading habit that does not exceed 30 cm in height. Between these two extremes, there is a whole range of shrubs more common in gardens.

Generally speaking, training pruning is done in early spring and maintenance pruning just after flowering.

How do I prune a rhododendron?

Training pruning

At the beginning of its life, the rhododendron needs a training pruning which will allow it to expand its silhouette more quickly. With the nails of your thumb and forefinger, pinch off new growth just above a leaf in spring. New stems should appear at this cut. Wait until they reach 5 cm in length before pinching the tips of these shoots again.

Maintenance pruning

On older plants, wait until the shrub has flowered to consider maintenance pruning. Take a small pruning shears whose blades will have been disinfected with methylated spirits to avoid the propagation of diseases from one plant to another.

Then cut each wilted flower just under its stalk. The pruning must be precise in order not to cut the stems carrying at their ends the latent buds which will ensure the blooming of the following year.

Always with the secateurs, cut the dead stems at their bases. Also remove the branches that cross in the center of the shrub, or those that seem damaged or diseased.

Specific case of tree rhododendron

Prune all the low branches in autumn when the young tree is formed to keep only 6 to 8 carpenter branches. Wait two years before pruning all branches less than 2 cm in diameter. Cut the shoots and all the stems present under the framework to form the main trunk.

If it is an old tree that has never been maintained, don't hesitate to cut it back drastically in the fall or winter, except during the frost period. To do this, take a saw or a lopper and cut all the branches at 20 cm above the frame.

Cloud pruning

Cloud pruning requires a lot of patience and several years of work to start getting full clouds.

The tree can be tilted, in different leaning positions to eventually give it an impression of age.

For upright trees, every other side branch is removed, giving the tree a contrasting appearance of dense clumps and airy spaces, a shape that conifers have naturally in Asia.

For the subjects having a creeping port, one will take care as far as possible, so that all the clouds are directed towards outside.

Cloud pruning in 4 steps

The Japanese "cloud pruning" will be done in four successive steps:

1. A first important phase which consists in studying the tree from all sides, from near and far, in order to evaluate and appreciate the existing structure at our disposal
2. Then comes the phase of cleaning and pruning of the tree, in order to remove all the dead wood, the extremely thin branches that go in all directions...
3. Then comes the phase of separation of the masses which will be used for the elaboration of the clouds and which will be carried out according to three great axes, i.e. the general movement, the direction and the size of the branches
4. The clouds are then formed, then pruned and cut, in a regular way to obtain more and more dense clumps. Some clouds, even some branches, will be removed to obtain an elegant and harmonious subject.

Even if these trees are commonly called "garden bonsai" in the nurseryman's jargon, they differ from the bonsai culture, by the fact that the roots are not worked and remain intact. Thus the tree is not weakened and its growth is not limited, the "root" volume being always approximately the same as the leaf volume, in the plant world. They are eventually surrounded every three years if the tree is in the ground, in order to be able to move it or to put it in a pot more easily.

The vast family of camellias

Camellias around the world

The camellia is represented by about forty natural species, i.e. those that grow in the wild, mainly in Japan and China. There are also some in Thailand and Vietnam, but they are rather tropical species, which cannot be acclimatized in our gardens. Moreover, about 40000 selections have been created throughout the world, whose variations concern the flowers and the leaves.

The variations of flowers and leaves of camellias

In terms of flowering periods, we distinguish between autumn camellias, which start to flower from October 15th to December 15th, then winter camellias and finally spring camellias. The flowering of camellias lasts, thus, until May 15.

There are camellias with sophisticated flowers, large flowers or natural species with small flowers. As far as the foliage is concerned, there is also diversity: variegated leaves, small leaves, fine leaves, dark green leaves, light green leaves...

The culture of camellias

Camellias are mainly grown in acidic soils, such as those of western France, Brittany, and in ancient massifs. In Brittany, the camellia grows naturally and can live for several hundred years. On some old estates, you can find camellias that are more than 150 years old with trunks over 50 cm in diameter.

Most camellias like shade, except for the autumn camellias, which prefer the sun.

Depending on their shape, it is more or less necessary to prune them. There are upright camellias that can be pruned to order the silhouette, weeping camellias that don't need any particular pruning, or camellias that can be integrated into hedges and pruned directly with a hedge trimmer; you then obtain a compact hedge, almost like a cedar hedge, with flowers as well!

From creeping camellias to 10-meter high trees, there are truly camellias for every taste!

The hardiness of camellias

Concerning the cold hardiness of camellias, there is also a great diversity of cases. Tropical camellias are freezing, while others can withstand temperatures as low as -20°C. It is therefore important to be well informed about camellia varieties before making a purchase.

Hydrangea cuttings

The hydrangea is an opulent flowering shrub that lights up our gardens every year with its colorful pompons.

Hydrangea is easy to grow and once well established, it will bloom abundantly in the summer. This generous plant will elegantly dress a wall, can be used as a hedge, or simply as a central element of a bed. It will be very easy to multiply Hydrangeas in the summer season by following these few tips...

Cutting period

The end of spring and summer are the ideal periods to cut hydrangeas.

In spring, cuttings should be taken from the non-arched stems (still green) while in summer, semi-woody branches should be chosen.

Cutting methods

The simplest method is to make cuttings using the end of a stem; the recovery will work better if the cutting is taken from a branch that has not flowered during the year.

• Cut the branch with sharp secateurs or a knife without crushing the stem to a height of 15 cm, just below a group of leaves;
• Remove all the lower leaves, leaving only the two leaves at the top of the stem;
• Plant the stem in a tall pot containing a mixture of heather soil, potting soil and river sand;
• Water well and let it drain;
• Cover the cutting and the pot with a translucent plastic bag (freezer bag) that you will maintain with a rubber band fixed around the pot. This is the "smothering" method of taking cuttings.

Another method is to take half-hardened heel cuttings in summer for this purpose:

• Detach a branch with a piece of bark from the main stem ;
• Cut off the basal leaves ;
• Place the cutting in the same mixture as previously recommended, water and seal in a plastic bag.

The roots should form in less than three weeks, the formation of new leaves is a sure sign of recovery. You can then remove the plastic bag and grow the cutting in its pot in the shade.

During the winter, place your cuttings in a frost-free environment; a ventilated frame will do the trick during the good weather. These plants can be installed in the garden the following spring or grown in a pot for another two years, giving them time to harden off before being introduced into the garden.

Tips for success

The cuttings should be placed in a bright place but never in full sun. Be careful not to keep the saucers full of water because the young roots could rot. To avoid cryptogamic diseases, a trick consists in adding charcoal powder to the substrate.

Remember to water well the first year the plants from cuttings installed in the garden, they will have better chances of recovery.

Cutting the Pink Laurel

Emblem of the Mediterranean gardens that it adorns with its abundant and fragrant flowering during long months, the pink Laurel (Nerium oleander) is a plant easy to multiply by cuttings. A wide range of colors is available: from pure white to crimson red, through all shades of pink or the rarer and more fragile pale yellow. From cultivars with very double flowers, with a sweet almond scent, to species with yellow variegated foliage, you will be spoilt for choice!

How and when to proceed?

In spring or early summer, take a terminal branch of about 20 centimeters long from a healthy plant, free of parasites or diseases, and cut it at an angle. Then remove all the leaves from the stem, leaving only the two terminal leaves. The flowers should also be removed.

This operation called cutting can be done on a herbaceous stem or a semi-arched stem, later in the season. In the Mediterranean area, you can take advantage of the post-flowering pruning to recover the stems to be cut.

Methods of taking cuttings from the rose laurel

Two very simple methods are available to you:

Cutting in the ground is an easy method; plant the stem in a pot deep enough to bury a good half of it.

The substrate should be light, composed of equal parts of river sand and good potting soil. Place your cuttings in a warm, clear place sheltered from drying winds.

Avoid full sun until the growth is effective and never let the mixture dry too much. If you take the cutting at the end of autumn, cover it with a transparent plastic bag (like a freezer bag) that you will keep closed with a rubber band around the pot. This will keep the plant warm and moist.

You can then introduce the plant in the garden as soon as the weather is fine, when any risk of frost is eliminated. Water copiously the first three years and do not hesitate to prune drastically at the end of autumn to induce the formation of new stems as of the following spring.

Cutting in water is the easiest and most fun to do.

Simply place several stems in a bottle cut three-quarters of the way through and wait for roots to form. You will find that competition can be beneficial and that it often takes longer for a single cutting to root than several stems together. To keep the water odor-free, place a small piece of charcoal at the bottom of the bottle to prevent rotting. Remember to add water if evaporation is too strong and place your bottle in a shady area. Wait a fortnight: the roots should appear.

Once the roots are well developed (about two months) you can install the plants in individual pots. Act with care because the roots produced in water are fragile and breakable. Install them in a light substrate composed of 2/3 of good potting soil and 1/3 of river sand. Keep the plants frost-free during the winter, you will install them in the ground only in May.

The autumn camellia, growing tips

It is quite possible to see camellias in bloom during the month of November.

But not just any camellia. They are Camellia sasanqua, more commonly known as autumn camellias. Some varieties are double flowered. Among the beautiful single-flowered varieties are :

• Camellia sasanqua 'Narumigata': this is an autumn camellia with single white flowers.
• Camellia sasanqua 'Papaver' (the flower looks like a poppy): it is an autumn camellia with light pink single flowers.

Bonus: Autumn camellias grow rather fast, up to 3 to 4 meters high.

Interests of the autumn camellias

On the one hand, the bloom of the Camellia sasanqua is rather long (one and a half to two months) at a time when few plants are in bloom in the garden.

On the other hand, the flowers of Camellia sasanqua are pleasantly scented.

Growing requirements for fall camellias

Autumn camellias grow on draining and acid soils (pH< 7).

On neutral to calcareous soils, their cultivation is more complicated or even impossible for calcareous soils.

Autumn camellias are among the few camellias that can be planted in the sun. It is also important to know that when temperatures become too cold, below -10°C, the trees suffer and produce a poor bloom the following year. The climates of Brittany, Normandy and the Médoc are therefore suitable for their cultivation.

Planting autumn camellias

Delicate, the autumn camellias are a bit delicate, but on the other hand their planting is within the reach of any beginner gardener. For a root ball of 80 cm in diameter, dig a hole of 1.20 meters in diameter and position the subject in the center.

As the Autumn Camellia is an evergreen and autumn flowering tree, the ideal planting period is in spring.

Care of the fall camellia

Autumn camellias require very little maintenance.

However, you should watch out for the development of smoke; it is unsightly but not very dangerous for the plant and can be treated very easily.