Content
Garden camellia is a shrub with bright pink, red, yellow and white flowers of single or double color. A characteristic feature is that it blooms only in cool conditions, i.e. in winter or early spring. The features of planting and growing this unusual plant are described in detail in the presented article.
Description of street camellia with photo
Garden camellia is a perennial flowering shrub belonging to the well-known tea family. Depending on the variety, climatic features of the area and care conditions, it reaches a height of 2 to 10 and even 20 m. Therefore, some varieties of garden camellia can be considered trees.
The stems branch well, starting from the base. They quickly become covered with wood and produce quite a lot of branches, so the crown looks lush.Often, gardeners grow garden camellia with climbing shoots that can be sent along a vertical support or created as a hedge.
The leaves of the plant have short petioles, oval or ovoid shape, alternate arrangement. The edges are pointed, but they can also be smooth, the ends are elongated. The color is dark green, the surface is shiny, with pubescence, looks beautiful in the sun. The length of the leaf blades of garden camellia reaches from 3 to 17 cm. A characteristic feature is that they grow from one node, and each node has from 1 to 3 leaves.
The photo shows that the flowers of street camellias are medium and large in size, reaching 5-10 and even 15-20 cm in length. They grow solitarily and do not form inflorescences. Pedicels are straight and strong. It is noticeable that at the base the petals grow together into short tubes. Moreover, they can be located in 1 tier, but more often - in several rows. The shape is round or broadly oval, the edges are wavy.
The core of a garden camellia flower is represented by a lush bunch of yellow stamens. The color of the petals themselves is varied, it can be monochromatic or variegated. The main shades are:
- red;
- pink;
- yellow;
- white.
The shape of the flowers is also varied, depending on the specific variety. Some camellias partly resemble a rose, others consist of numerous petals arranged in several rows (double flowers) or overlapping each other.
The shrub produces large flowers with graceful petals
Flowering period of garden camellias
Garden camellia is a unique plant in many ways. The fact is that the bush produces flowers only in the cold season, when the daytime temperature does not exceed 12 degrees Celsius.
The specific flowering period depends on the variety.Thus, there are plants with autumn flowering (at the end of October, November, and in the southern regions - even at the beginning of December). In regions with colder climates, garden camellia flowers appear only in March.
The best varieties
Garden camellia is one of the most popular plants for decorating flower beds. Today, quite a few varieties have been bred, among which the following can be distinguished:
- General Colletti decorates the garden with double flowers of double color - red and white.
- Freedom Bell is a shrub with straight shoots that produces coral flowers. This variety of garden camellia is excellent for pruning, thanks to which you can get a tree of any shape.
- Hagoromo (Hagoromo) is a low-growing garden camellia, grows no more than 1.5 m. It produces flowers of white, milky shades that look great against the background of dark green leaves.
How to plant camellia in open ground
Before planting, it is important to choose not only the appropriate plant variety, but also the location, as well as the optimal time. Two terms are allowed - in spring and autumn, with the first option being preferable for regions with relatively cold winters.
Street camellia flower seedlings for the Moscow region and other regions of the middle zone should be highly winter-hardy. Their planting can be planned for mid-April. As a last resort, you can plant it in May and even in June (until mid-summer).
In the southern regions, garden camellia can be planted in the fall and even at the beginning of winter - from October to December.It is worth considering that it is undesirable to disturb seedlings during the dormant period or during the formation and opening of buds.
Where to plant camellia in the garden
It is not advisable to disturb garden camellia by transplanting, so the location must be chosen with special care. Experienced gardeners recommend paying attention to the following requirements:
- The area should be open, but temporary shade is necessary, for example, from a house or a tall tree. It is optimal if you plant the shrub on the east or west side of the garden. If you do this on the south side, you need to take care of shading.
- Since garden camellia is quite thermophilic, it is better to choose a place protected from draft winds, for example, by a fence or hedge.
- There is also a general planting rule that applies to garden camellias and most other plants - it is best to choose hills. In the lowlands, after rains and snowmelt, a lot of water accumulates, which can damage the root system.
- The soil for garden camellia should be quite fertile. Loamy or sandy loam soils work well. If the soil is depleted, compost or humus is added to it in advance in an amount of 5-7 kg per 1 m2. If the soil is clayey, when digging, it is recommended to add 1-2 kg of sand or sawdust per square meter.
- Finally, it is important to note that garden camellia prefers to grow in a moderately acidic environment. If the soil is neutral or alkaline, peat must be added to it at a rate of 2-3 kg per square meter.
Garden camellia is planted in open areas
Scheme for planting camellias in open ground
Planting the plant itself looks quite simple. Several holes are formed on the site with a minimum interval of 1 m (dense planting). If you plan to grow shrubs with a spreading crown (depending on the pruning technique), leave a distance twice as large.
Step-by-step instructions for planting garden camellias:
- Dig holes 60 cm deep and wide.
- Lay small stones - the layer should be about 15 cm.
- Place a garden camellia seedling in the center and sprinkle it with fertile soil (for example, a mixture of garden soil with humus, peat and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1:1).
- Compact the soil so that the root collar remains flush with the surface (do not bury it).
- Water with a bucket of settled water and after a few days lay a layer of mulch.
How to care for camellia in the garden
Caring for camellia in the country is not very easy, since the plant is demanding. However, there are several rules, following which you can get a beautiful shrub in almost any region of the country.
Watering and fertilizing
In nature, camellias grow in regions with warm and humid weather. Therefore, you should water the bushes regularly. Young seedlings are given water every week, and in drought - twice as often. If it rains, additional moisture is not needed.
For adult plants, watering is planned three times a month. In this case, you should focus on the surface layer of soil in the tree trunk circle - it should remain slightly moist. Periodically, the soil should be cleared of weeds and also loosened.
As for fertilizing, they are given in fairly large quantities:
- In April, garden camellia is fed with a nitrogen compound, for example, urea - 20 g per 10 liters of water.
- From June to the end of August, fertilizers are applied every 2-3 weeks. It is advisable to alternate organic matter, for example, potassium humate, and complex mineral supplements.
- For the winter (already in November) you can pour in an infusion of wood ash 200 g per 10 liters. This technique allows you to strengthen the root system, thanks to which it will survive frosts well.
Thanks to watering and fertilizing, garden camellia will produce beautiful flowers.
Trimming
Caring for Camellia garden flowers in the open ground necessarily includes pruning. The procedure is performed every year in early spring before the buds begin to swell (at the end of March). If there was no flowering in winter, you should wait until it stops completely.
It is necessary to remove old and diseased branches, as well as shorten strongly protruding shoots. Preliminarily outline the shape of the bush and remove all unnecessary branches. At the same time, too much pruning harms garden camellias - it is better to cut only individual shoots.
Wintering
Many varieties of garden camellia are winter-hardy; they can easily tolerate temperature drops down to -15 and even -20 degrees. Therefore, in the southern regions, such shrubs can easily grow in open ground all year round.
In other regions, in late autumn, after the first frost, it is advisable to thoroughly mulch the plants and cover them with spruce branches or other non-woven material on top.
If the variety is undersized, you can plant the seedlings in a pot and bring them into a room with a temperature of 5-10 degrees Celsius (for example, on a terrace) for the winter. These are optimal conditions for long-term flowering, which can be admired from November-December.
Diseases and pests
Another important rule for caring for street camellia flowers is timely prevention of diseases and pest invasions. If you do not feed the bush and water it poorly, it may suffer from fungal infections, for example, powdery mildew, phyllosticosis. For treatment, fungicides are used:
- "HOM";
- "Profit";
- "Abiga Peak";
- "Ordan".
The most dangerous insects are spider mites, weevils, scale insects and aphids. To cope with them, garden camellia is treated with insecticides:
- "Fitoverm";
- "Colorado";
- "Match";
- "Ephoria".
Bushes are periodically inspected for signs of disease.
Reproduction of Camellia street
Garden camellia can be propagated by cuttings and growing from seeds. There are also ways to obtain new plants by layering and grafting.
Cuttings
Most often, trees are propagated vegetatively, for example, by cuttings. At the beginning of summer, several young shoots with 3-5 leaves are cut, an oblique lower cut is made, and they are placed in a solution with a growth stimulator, for example, Epin. A few hours later, they are planted in fertile soil, watered, and covered with a jar. After two months, the cuttings give roots - they can be transplanted to a new place and then carefully covered for the winter.
Seeds
Garden camellia seeds are sown immediately after collection, in the coming spring (preferably in March), since they quickly lose their viability. They are sown in fertile soil at a depth of about 5 cm. They are grown as seedlings and pruned after the formation of two true leaves. If the winters are quite severe, the seedlings are raised at home for 4-5 years and only after that are transplanted into open ground.
Application in landscape design
Most often, garden camellia is used in single plantings. It looks good against the background of a lawn, along a path, or as a hedge. Trees decorate the space in front of the entrance, next to the gazebo and other recreation areas. Below are several options for using plants in garden design:
- Planting in a pot.
- Hedge.
- Planting against the background of a lawn.
- Solitaire placement.
Conclusion
Camellia garden is a demanding plant, but very beautiful. This is an example of one of the most attractive shrubs, decorating the garden not only with flowers, but also with dark green leaves. You need to care for the tree carefully - regularly water and feed it, and also carefully cover it for the winter.
