Behind the camellias, the garden is rooted identification with roses, only those that bloom in winter when all the plants are asleep. Although the similarity of these two colors is only in their appearance: pomp and shape. But the garden camellia differs from other ornamental shrubs in its agrotechnology; the planting and caring for it are special.
Cold-resistant varieties of camellia
Today, among the many cultivated varieties of camellias, there are varieties that are adapted to the winter cold. They can be grown in open soil, even in places where winters are very severe.
Only, in order for success to be justified, you, as a gardener, will need to carefully select the growing conditions and provide meticulous care for camellia. And then the beauty of a blooming camellia will repay all the efforts.
Camellia as a species combines a lot of varieties with a wide variety of forms: from small shrubs to huge trees.
But frost-resistant varieties of camellia were bred for hundreds of years, and only in the 21st century seedlings of crops began to spread in large quantities, which can grow on open soil even in frosty winters. The following best cold-resistant varieties of camellia can be distinguished:
- "Donation";
- "Debbie";
- "Hagoromo";
- "Freedom Bell";
- "General Colletti"
All of them begin to bloom in spring, and even in winter they retain their foliage.
Camellia varieties Donation - seemingly fragile and delicate purple-pink ornamental shrub. Petals of round-shaped flowers remotely resemble an orchid. A flower in diameter is 10 cm.
This variety is very slow-growing, it forgives small missteps in the care and is suitable even for novice gardeners or those who do not have experience in growing camellias. Lush dark green crown only emphasizes the luxurious scattering of large bright flowers.
Camellia varieties Debbie also has purple-pink flowers, only in a more saturated color range. Unlike the previous variety, Debbie grows quickly, and the abundance of flowering does not suffer from it.
The flowers are smaller and more terry, and the petals are rounded, but in general these two varieties are very similar. Debbie is not afraid of precipitation or late snow, it does not require complex care and is very well suited to get acquainted with the world of camellias.
Japanese camellia varieties Hagoromo blooms pearl-pink buds with modulations. But the flowers are actually chameleons. With further blooming, they turn white.
This is a slender ornamental shrub with elongated branches and dense crown. Camellia grows slowly and mostly up, slightly adding to the diameter of the crown.
Camellia flowers Freedom bell have a red color with a light coral overflow and silky texture. This is a true work of art among plants, decorated with bright stamens.
Freedom Bell branch is very dense, straight growth and large beautiful glossy leaves. This variety tolerates pruning. In the case of deformation and freezing of shoots, they can be safely shortened.
Japanese camellia General colletti strikingly different from the previous variety with its bright and variegated red flowers. White-scarlet spots stand out on them. White stains on the petals increase as the buds bloom.
Did you know? To date, more than 10,000 species and varieties of camellias are known.
How to buy a young seedling in the store
It is better not to purchase camellia seedlings in advance, but to buy them immediately before planting. Choose only those seedlings that are at least four years old. They must have powerful lignified shoots.
If you get a frost-resistant variety, make sure its properties are still in the store. The supplier should provide full information on the possibility of growing camellias in regions with snowy and frosty winters and on the range of tolerated temperatures.
The meaning of this is that the variety, though cold-resistant, but a certain batch of seedlings can be grown in milder climatic conditions. And this could have dire consequences for camellia in the very first winter.
Check the frost resistance of each plant purchased by asking leading questions to the seller / supplier.
Planting a garden camellia
A gardener planting a camellia is obliged to know in which place it is better to plant it, how to properly care for it, what soil should be, how much to water it, and in what quantities to feed. The full life of the shrub begins with its landing in the open land.
Terms of landing in an open ground
Camellia should be planted between the twentieth of April and the tenth of June.
How to choose a place for landing
For camellia, temperate and humid climatic conditions are most preferred. For planting in other regions of the plant must undergo adaptation. Further cultivation of a camellia in the garden should begin with the selection of a shady place where strong winds do not penetrate.
The eastern side and the constant exposure to direct sunlight do not have a favorable effect on camellia. The shrub will grow well in partial shade or in constant shade - just not in the dark.
Camellia needs cool air and a short light day to make buds. Camellia flower buds are laid at a temperature of 17 to 20 ° C, and bloom from 8 to 13 ° C.
How to prepare the ground for planting seedlings
Care and maintenance of camellia in the garden begins directly with the preparation of the soil. Ordinary garden land is too dense and does not allow air to pass through with moisture. The gardener is required to organize a drainage system and ensure the acidity of the soil.
Optimal soil can be prepared independently. It is enough to mix peat soil, sand, pine litter and ground bark. You can buy ready-made soil in the store, which is intended for the cultivation of azaleas and rhododendrons.
Often planted camellia in the country. In this case, you need to opt for a blooming specimen. During this period, the plant is in a state of rest, and with the accumulated forces of camellia it will be easier to transfer adaptation to the new habitat.
The shrub should be carefully removed from the container, keeping the fragile roots intact. When planting camellia, do not go deep into the soil of its root collar.
But do not leave the root system too close to the surface, because there is a high probability that the plant will die at the first frost. After disembarking a camellia, water and muffle it abundantly.
Did you know? One of the ancient legends says that beautiful virgins from Saturn, who did not succumb to the charms of the god of love Amur, were turned into camellias. To commemorate this, camellias are symbolized with coldness and insensitivity.
Features care for camellia in the garden
Despite its simplicity, garden camellia needs compulsory and proper regular care.
Watering and feeding plants
When pouring camellia during flowering, make sure that water does not fall on the buds or flowers. In summer, the plant needs regular hydration, which needs to be produced very generously. In winter, the intensity of watering must be significantly moderated.
But it also happens that camellia drops leaves, and sometimes buds, what then? Firstly, this is the very first sign that the soil is either not sufficiently wetted or poorly fertilized. The output is obvious - the normalization of irrigation and improving the quality of feeding.
Important! Camellia growing in the garden, demanding on the composition of water and its quality. Do not water the plant with water that contains lime. Soft well-settled water is best suited for this purpose.Camellia requires high-quality fertilizing, especially in spring, during the formation of new shoots, when the active period of its growth begins. Feed should be to the end of the summer twice a month.
Important! With dressing you should not overdo it. The camellia root system does not require a large amount of food. It is necessary to feed a plant, only when the soil is well moistened.To introduce dressing you need only based on organic matter and mineral fertilizers. They can be bought at any store specializing in the garden and garden field. When the summer season is replaced by the autumn and the formation of new buds, feeding can be stopped.
Overfeeding the plant will result in its growth at the time it takes to rest. In this case, the adult camellia can suffer greatly, and the young and freeze at all.
Trimming and transplanting
Camellia should be transplanted during its rest period, namely with the onset of winter. There are two active periods of plant growth:
- The first - from the beginning of April and for three weeks.
- The second - from early July until autumn.
Important! Replanting camellia in the growth phase is fraught with disastrous consequences: the plant can stop its growth or even die.
Caring properly for a young plant, it should be replanted annually. And during the flowering period, the camellia needs to be transplanted to a new location every two years.For greater density and branching shoots of camellia need to pinch when transplanting. To stimulate the formation of kidney need to cut the camellia in the middle of autumn.
Camellia is unpretentious regarding pruning, but the benefits will be only if you prune at the end of the flowering period. If the bush has been cut too hard, then it will need more thorough care. Affected shrub will need to be moistened more often.
Preparing the bush for the winter
In summer, the camellia grows in the garden, for the winter it can be dug out and transferred to the room for wintering. Save the shrub is quite difficult, since the heating is bad for the plant.
The best place for a camellia is a warm balcony or any other room with conditions similar to a cold greenhouse.
In winter, camellia blooms most intensely, but this is achieved only at night temperatures of 0 ... + 5 ° C. This is the main factor in which the camellia garden most intensely and continuously blooms.
Camellia breeding at home
Camellia can reproduce, like most other plants: seeds, layering, grafting and grafting.
Cuttings
Garden camellias multiply better with half-woody cuttings that are cut closer to August. The stalk should be with five leaves, about 8 cm long.
How to root a camellia? Her cutting should be planted in the sand or a mixture of sand and peat in the ratio of 1: 1. The end of the cutting is dipped in a phytohormone, which helps to better heat the soil.
Its temperature should be about 25 degrees. In such conditions, the stalk will take root for two months.
Take necessarily only semi-woody cuttings. Green young shoots are not suitable for reproduction. Rooted cuttings are planted in separate pots.
Seeds
Seed breeding method camellia most effective. When do you need to plant camellia seeds? They ripen by mid-autumn. Seeds need to be sown immediately after harvest, otherwise their germination will quickly be lost due to the content of a large amount of oil.
Sow the seeds in a mixture of peat and sand in wooden boxes. The growth of seedlings is accelerated at a temperature of 20 ° C and lasts from several weeks to one year. Then, with the appearance of two leaves, the seedlings dive one by one into separate pots with a diameter of 7 cm.
Camellias, grown from seed, are much better adapted to harsh conditions and grow faster.
Usually the plant blooms in the fifth or seventh year, but some varieties bloom in the second or third.
Did you know? Camellias appeared in Europe in 1738 thanks to a Jesuit monk Joseph Camel. In his honor, the plant and became known as "camellia."
Frequent problems with growing, possible diseases and pests of camellias
Camellia diseases can be both treated and prevented, the main thing is to know the methods of control and prevention.
Yellow spot. Individual leaves and shoots of the plant are covered with yellow spots of various shapes. The disease can occur as a result of genetic abnormalities, and under the influence of viral diseases.
How to fight: need to carefully pick up queen cells. Plants with even the smallest signs of yellow spotting should be removed.
Phyllosticios. The leaves are covered with brown spots of irregular shape. This disease is manifested as a result of increased humidity and foliage damage.
How to fight: affected leaflets need to be removed. For the quickest drying of the plant, the air humidity must be reduced. Before the onset of winter, camellia needs to be treated with one of the following preparations: Saporol, copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture, Abiga-Peak.
Weevil-skosar. This pest can be identified by the leaves gnawed at the edges. The larvae of this insect are much more dangerous than the maternal individual. They damage the root system. They look like white worms 1 cm long with a brown head.
How to fight: do an excellent job with pests Basudin in granules, Golden Spark, Flyer and Medvetoks.
Shchitovki and false shields. They damage the still young shoots, and on the surface of the stems are visible tubercles of golden or brown color. Insects it turns out just otkovyrnut something thin.
How to fight: with a small lesion, you can get rid of pests with a toothbrush. After that, moisten a cotton swab in kerosene and wipe the stems. The dense film does not allow air, and insects die from asphyxiation. If the lesions are more global, then Camellia needs to be treated with insecticides. Well suited mineral oil.
Thrips. The leaves of the plant throughout the area acquire an uneven yellow-white color. On the underside of the leaves there is a dark discharge. Thrips are tiny oblong insects of yellow or brown color that lodge below the leaves. They appear when the air temperature rises and humidity increases. Strongly affected leaves dry and fall away.
How to fight: You need to hang blue sticky traps near the plants. To completely get rid of pests, camellias are sprayed with insecticides Aktara, Aktellik, Fufanon, Fitoverm, Tanrek, Spark, etc. After five days, the treatment must be repeated, as the insects go through several stages of development.
Mite. The leaves are painted with yellow dots, which over time expand, discolor and dry. Mites with a size of only 0.5 mm live among the cobweb below the leaves. Ticks appear from high temperature and dry air.
How to fight: In the early stages, camellia can be treated with a soap solution or mineral oil. With more extensive help Fitoverm, Akarin, Vertimek, Lightning and others.
Use of camellia plants in different areas
Camellia green light cool rooms. Their flowers are great for decorating apartments and halls.
Medicines are made from the buds and leaves of the camellia. It is the young buds that are used to make drinks, as they are fermented.
Young buds and leaves of camellia contain enzymes that increase the body's metabolic processes and help remove excess fat.
Phenolic compounds contained in the leaves have a calming effect and break down lipids. Thus, fewer calories enter the body. A decoction of camellia roots treats diarrhea.
On the basis of oil from the seeds of Camellia are made all kinds of cosmetics. For example, lipsticks with camellia oil are applied with a thinner and lighter layer. Broth leaves makes hair more docile and silky.
Healthy and aromatic tea is made from the dried leaves of the camellia. It can be prepared in the home. Five leaf shoots need to be collected from May to September. They are laid out on a wooden plank and fade for half a day.
Then rolled into tubes and spread on a wet towel with a thickness of 7 cm and leave for five hours. When the leaves start to smell and become coppery red, they need to be dried in an oven at 50 ° C. Tea can be brewed.
In China, camellia leaves cure dysentery, heal wounds, calm stomach disorders, cure malaria, epilepsy and anemia. Good help with fatigue.
Thanks to the tonic and astringent properties of camellia flowers, hemorrhoids can be successfully and painlessly cured. A decoction of flowers stops internal and external bleeding.
Important! Be sure to follow the dosage, taking Camellia raw materials as a therapeutic agent.And finally, I would like to understand one more question: what does the camellia flower symbolize?
For a long time, camellia was a "samurai flower". Only representatives of this class could grow camellias and decorate their clothes. But in the 15th century, such a belief suddenly appeared that a samurai that touched a camellia would inevitably be beheaded. It is explained simply.A torn camellia flower does not crumble when it hits the ground, and the associative fantasy of the Japanese has added its own colors.
In antiquity, according to the Shinto tradition, camellia was a symbol of the sun goddess Amaterasu, later - Jesus, with the advent of Christianity. Today camellia symbolizes stamina and longevity.
