Cutting the camellia

The propagation by cuttings of camellia requires patience and know-how. Let's see how to proceed in the best conditions.

A multitude of varieties

With more than 250 species and an even greater number of cultivars, camellias are shrubs with devastating charm. They are appreciated for their spectacular flowering which can last for a good part of the year if we take care to choose the right varieties. The flowers, single, double or so-called 'peony', vary in color from pure white to bright red, passing through all shades of pink. More rarely we find subjects with yellow flowers. Some cultivars have variegated flowers.

Cutting camellia: instructions for use

The cutting of camellia is not difficult to realize, however two essential points will have to be taken into account: heat (relative) and constant rate of humidity will have to be respected. If all the ingredients are met, success is almost guaranteed!

Equipment needed:

• A pruning shears ;
• a grafting tool or a sharp knife;
• a small pot (5 to 7cm diameter);
• a light mixture of heather soil and river sand;
• a translucent plastic bag (like a freezer bag);
• raffia or rubber band;
• Cutting hormone (optional).

When and how to proceed ?

Camellia cuttings are best done in summer, when the temperature will be favourable for the operation.

• Choose a healthy and vigorous plant. Take the end of a 15 cm long branch with disinfected secateurs. The cutting must be Augusted, that is to say that the stem will be of brown color with bark.
• Remove all the leaves at the base of the cutting to keep only the three leaves at the end of it.
• Cut the cutting with the grafting tool on 2 cm ;
• With the same tool, remove the bark on one side of the base of the cutting for about 3 cm ;
• Fill your pot with the mixture and water;
• Dig a hole in the center of the mixture with a small piece of wood or a pencil;
• Dip the base of the cutting in a little bit of cutting hormone powder if you wish;
• Carefully place the stem in the pre-formed hole and place the soil around it, packing it well around the cutting;
• To keep the humidity and the heat, place the plastic bag on the cutting and fix it on the pot with the help of the raffia or the elastic;
• Place your cutting in the shade but in a bright place.

And afterwards?

Make sure to maintain a good level of humidity. After a few months, signs of recovery should appear (growth of leaves and roots). Remove the plastic bag and repot the following spring. Keep the plant in the nursery for another two years before moving it to its final location.

Camellia, the keys to success

Some advice to succeed in growing your camellia ...

The best location

Shelter from cold draughts and the burning rays of the sun. The cooler the soil remains in summer, the more the camellia resists the sun. Don't hesitate to plant it under the cover of large deciduous trees, avoiding the proximity of large shallow-rooted trees that pump all the water. The presence of a canopy protects the most fragile flowers from bad weather and prevents the white flowers from rusting. Spare it the eastern exposure that the winter sun heats up too quickly after a cold night.

The best substrate

Acid (pH around 6), fresh, drained and fertile! If your soil is calcareous or neutral, make a special pit and line the bottom with a garden felt or plant in a pot. Beware of pure heather soil, too light and too poor. Improve it with as much humus. In pots, give some body to the substratum by incorporating a clay soil of the rose type.

Safe planting

Soak the root ball of the camellia well before planting to hydrate it. The planting hole should be equal to twice the volume of the root ball, wider than it is deep because the roots are superficial. Improve drainage by placing a layer of clay balls at the bottom of the hole (not white gravel, limestone!!).

Some precautions in pots 

The camellia can live for many years in a pot if it is at least 35-40 cm in diameter. At the beginning of each spring, replace 5 cm of the surface with a brand new substrate. The pot allows you to enjoy perfect flowers if you can shelter them from cold and bad weather in a greenhouse or an unheated veranda (5 to 10°C).

Its Achilles heel!

The superficial roots are sensitive to drought and cold. The best solution: mulch with a good bed of dead leaves or grass clippings depending on the season.

Water with care 

Keep the substrate fresh all year long by watering regularly with non-calcareous water. Camellia fears drought as much as excess water that suffocates the roots. Don't forget to water in winter, especially if it is in a pot or placed under a roof edge.

Well nourished 

Regular mulching with organic matter enriches the soil. Complete with a spring application of fertilizer 'Plants of heathland' to boost the growth and the formation of future flower buds.

To prune or not ?

Pruning is not necessary except to remove diseased or cold-damaged parts. Prune after the camellia blooms when it is no longer freezing. Regularly clean the faded flowers of those that do not lose them naturally. Watch out for future buds that form very early. You can give a new look to the slightly gangly subjects by pruning them short, but do not count on flowers the following winter!

Camellia: family portrait

Buy your camellia in bloom to choose the most beautiful flowers. Learn about its characteristics keeping in mind the use you want to make of it.

There is a multitude of hybrids with very different qualities. If your home has a long, cold winter, choose a late blooming variety.

Japanese camellias are the most classic, the most rustic and those which present the greatest number of varieties with flower forms and colors sometimes very sophisticated or original. English hybridizations between Camellia japonica and Camellia saluensis, a Chinese from Yunnan, have given the x Williamsii series. These are extremely floriferous and have the advantage of being self-cleaning unlike Japanese camellias (the faded flowers fall off by themselves). With a more flexible habit and a more vigorous growth, the garden scenes will have a more natural style.

How to choose?

• The earliest: Bow Bells, Cornish Snow, Nobilissima, St Ewe, Sugar Dream, 'Takanini'.
• The longest bloomers: Bow Bells, Brigadoon, Donation (a very popular variety, soft pink that is bursting with flowers), Freedom Bell, Gloire de Nantes, Inspiration (large flowers), Takanini
• The most resistant to cold: A Audusson, Gloire de Nantes, Nobilissima
• The most adapted to pot culture (moderate vigor, reduced size, slow growth): Gay Baby, Night Rider, San Dimas
• The safe values (easy): A. Audusson, Debbie, Inspiration, Lavinia Maggi, Elegans, Mme Lourmand
• The most sophisticated (perfect shapes, shades): Ave Maria, Désir, Sunny Side
• The most original : Elegance Champagne (tinted with yellow), Tulip Time
• The most natural : Donation, Lily Pons, Mark Alan
• The fragrant ones: Cinnamon Cindy, Sugar Dream
• Extra in hedge (fast growing and important development): Cinnamon Cindy, Inspiration, St Ewe
• To be trained: soft branches: Cornish Snow, Debbie, Donation, Elegant Beauty

The reds

• Adolphe Audusson: (jap) camellia of French origin very popular and widespread. Vigorous, hardy, upright habit. Large semi-db cherry red flowers. Feb to April.
• Elegant Beauty: (hyb) vigorous, salmon red semi-db flower. March to May.
• Mark Alan: (jap) double anemone flower, cherry red, hardy and vigorous. March to May.
• Night Rider : (jap) semi-db miniature flower, dark red with purple young shoots. Very compact. Feb to April.
• San Dimas (jap) medium flower, bright red Feb to April.
• Takanini: (jap) small red anemone flower, fast growing. Nov to April.

The roses

• Ave Maria: (jap) vigorous variety, upright habit, medium size imbricated flower, pearly pink. Dec. to Mar.
• Bow Bells: (hyb de Saluenensis): bell-shaped pink flower, very early and very floriferous. January to April.
• Brigadoon: (hyb) very hardy, very floriferous, large single flower, likes cool summers. Feb to April.
• Debbie: (hyb) large peoniform flower, satin pink from February to April.
• Desire : (jap) admirable intertwined flower mixing pale pink and brighter pink. Vigorous. Feb to April.
• Donation : very popular variety, rustic, very floriferous, semi-double soft pink. Tolerates the sun. Jan. to April.
• Gloire de Nantes : (jap) old variety, semi-double bright pink flower. Long flowering. Dec. to March.
• Inspiration: (hyb) large parma pink flower, long bloom, Dec to Mar.
• St Ewe: (hyb) fast growing, slender habit, bright pink bell. Jan to April.
• Sugar Dream: (hyb of Oleifera) medium semi-db soft pink flower with creamy scented heart. Nov to Feb.
• Tulip Time: (jap) small single light pink tulip shaped flower! Dec to March.

The whites

• Cinnamon Cindy (hyb): small double flower, pinkish white, subtle cinnamon scent. Nov to April.
• Countess Lavinia Maggi: (jap) 19th century variety, imbricate, white streaked with carmine. Feb to April.
• Cornish Snow : (hyb) very floriferous. Small simple flower, white. Feb to April.
• Elegance Champagne (jap) large white flower with a champagne heart. Feb to May.
• Freedom Bell : (hyb) floriferous, hardy, small bright red bell-shaped flowers. Dec to March.
• Lily Pons : (jap) large single to semi-db pure white flowers. Jan to April.
• Nobilissima: (jap) early, very double medium white flowers with cream highlights, vigorous, Nov to Feb.
• Sunny Side : (jap) medium white flower hemmed with pink. Feb to April.

Choosing the right oak for your garden

The oak is a majestic tree representing strength and durability. Highly symbolic, this tree can live hundreds of years and should be chosen according to the size of your garden and the climate of your region. Here is an overview of the most common species...

An oak even in a small garden ?

If you dream of planting an oak tree but do not have a large garden, the solution exists: the Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera). It does not exceed two meters in height and can withstand wind, sea spray and drought, so it is ideal for planting in Mediterranean gardens.

Another heat lover, the cork oak (Quercus suber) will grow perfectly in the same conditions as the previous species, however it does not tolerate calcareous soil. It will reach a height of 10 meters but its growth is rather slow.

Another oak appreciating the southern regions, the holm oak (Quercus ilex), very tolerant to heat and drought, it appreciates limestone soils. Its nicely cut foliage, of a beautiful light green color, makes it a choice subject to install in a garden.

The pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens), more rustic than the species presented above, can be planted in most gardens. With its untidy and tortuous habit, it offers a beautiful spread (8 to 10 m). It should therefore not be installed in very small gardens!

The best species for large gardens

In a large garden, anything goes! Spreading out, incredible height and span, let yourself go crazy with the oak!

The sessile oak (Quercus petraea) is a choice subject in isolation because of its spreading silhouette. It can reach a height of 30 m for 25 m wide. Its golden foliage is very ornamental in the fall. It tolerates most soils, whether dry, neutral or acid, but does not tolerate limestone. Very hardy, it will do well in most regions.

The common oak (Quercus robur) also needs a well-adapted space to grow since it can reach 30 meters in height and 20 meters in span. It is one of the most difficult oaks in terms of the nature of the soil, which must be rather neutral. It hates dryness and needs constant coolness to grow well. Once these conditions are met, you will be rewarded by its beauty!

Great star of the gardens, the American red oak is a fast growing tree that will reach up to 25 meters in height for a spread of 15 to 20 m. Very hardy, it tolerates temperatures down to -25°C in winter. It appreciates non-calcareous and well-drained soils, but tolerates pollution and drought well, which is why it is often used as a line tree. Its foliage turns flamboyant red in autumn, which adds to its undeniable ornamental quality.

Ideal for very humid gardens, the swamp oak (Quercus palustris) will do well on the banks of rivers or in marshy areas, but only in plains because it does not tolerate altitude. This beautiful and slender tree of 20 meters high, very rustic, does not accept limestone soils. In autumn it is adorned with shimmering orange-red colors.

How to cut the spirea, a very flowering shrub?

When to cut the spirea ?

The spirea can be cut as soon as June and throughout the summer.

How to take cuttings ?

Take a stem of 25 cm already a little lignified (wood) on a healthy plant without any trace of disease or pests.

Remove the leaves from the base of the cutting and keep two or three.

Cut the stem above these two leaves to keep only a segment of about 10 cm and plant it directly in the soil leaving just the leaves above.

Choose a shady spot to make your cutting. For this propagation technique to work, you need to find the right balance between the time when the cutting is likely to dry out and the time when it will have the capacity to emit roots. If it is left in full sun or wind, the chances of success are greatly compromised because the cutting will perish before it has time to put down roots.

Water gently but generously at the foot of the cutting to soak the soil.

A trick consists in placing a glass jar upside down on the cutting in order to carry out the technique of cuttings in the smother. A hygrometry close to 100% will thus be preserved and the cutting will be protected from the climatic hazards and from the trampling of possible children or animals thanks to the jar.

How to maintain the cutting ?

Be sure to water regularly to maintain a correct humidity and favorable to the emission of new roots.

It is not necessary to remove the jar before 4 to 6 weeks, period during which new leaves should appear in the armpit of the old ones marking the effective recovery of the cutting.

Wait until winter to remove it and place it in an individual pot with potting soil if you wish to offer or exchange your cutting.

If you prefer to keep it, transplant it in the place of the garden that you will have dedicated to it. Remember to water after this operation, as well as the weeks following if it does not rain enough to ensure a good recovery.

How to cut the lantana ?

The lantana never ceases to charm visitors to southern gardens. To cut this plant with its brightly colored pompon inflorescences, nothing could be easier, follow the guide!

Lantana, who are you?

The lantana is a small shrub native to South America for most species. Its evergreen and aromatic foliage when crumpled between the fingers is covered with rounded inflorescences with attractive colors. Most often yellow, orange, pink, cream or red, the flowers follow one another from May until the first frost. In the most southern regions, it is not uncommon to see it blooming also in winter.

When to cut the lantana?

Cutting can be done in March in the warmth of the new shoots or in August on the semi-hardened stems.

How to take cuttings of lantana?

If you proceed to the cutting in March on a plant kept warm, the cutting will be made on a young tender and green shoot.

If you prefer to do it at the end of summer, the stem will be woody (hard) and straw-colored.

• Take a pruning shears whose blades will have been disinfected beforehand.
• Cut an end of the stem of 15 cm length.
• Remove any flower clusters and then the leaves, keeping only the last two leaves at the top of the cutting.
• Fill a bucket with a light mixture made of half of good soil and half of river sand.
• With the tip of a pencil, dig a hole in the center of the mixture 5 cm deep.
• Dip the end of the cutting into some powdered cutting hormone or willow water to increase your chances of success.
• Place the cutting in the hole previously made, taking care not to remove the hormone powder in the process.
• Gently close the soil around the stem and pack.
• Water in a fine rain.
• Place three or four vertical sticks (20 cm high) around the mixture along the wall of the pot. They will keep the translucent plastic bag that you will install on top out of contact with the cutting.
• Attach the plastic bag to the pot with a rubber band or raffia.

After taking a lantana cutting

• Place your cutting in a very bright light without direct sunlight.
• Wait about a month until the roots have formed before removing the plastic bag.
• Water and gradually place your cutting in the morning or late afternoon sun.
• Transplant 3 months later in a larger pot or in the garden if frosts are no longer a concern as the lantana does not tolerate the cold.