Have you had success propagating camellias?

This year I had an 85% success rate! That's better than the 0% I get with clippings. I spent one afternoon in the late Spring air layering as many camellia branches as possible. I was even able to try a couple of red maple branches that needed to be pruned away anyway. Now in late October I was able to spend another afternoon clipping and potting up my new air layered camellias. I tried 26 branches, 4 died, 22 sprouted roots and are nicely potted up waiting for a rainy Winter to develop their root systems. Of all the gardening tasks I have learned - this is the most satisfying.

 Supplies and tables - check.

 Clippings clipped and ready.

 Success!

 Bursting with roots!

 Yes!

 I always clip off everything underneath the new roots.

 Potted up and ready to water in.

2 red maple trees 22 new camellia plants. I hope to have enough to create a hedge down my fence line. My neighbors to the left are getting older and have retired. I know that some time soon they will be selling that house and I want to be ready for some privacy screening.

 One of these red maple starts has a robust root system but the other doesn't,
I expect to have only one left by Spring.

 All placed on cardboard and ready to ride out Fall and Winter.

 The mother plant after everything has been clipped. No worse for the wear and pruned and ready for Spring. Can you see all those buds waiting to bloom this Winter?

This is why I do all this air layering. camellia japonica Pink Perfection. Imagine an entire hedge!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

 White Mandevilla is still blooming and growing like crazy. We have not had any frost, and probably won't for at least another month.

The Sunny Knockout Roses near the driveway are blooming right along. They get the early morning and the late evening sun so they are pretty happy. 

 The blue Salvia in the Sunny Border is still wowwing me. These plants were in the backyard and did nothing for several years. I decides to try some out front in the sun and have been so glad I did. The humming birds were pretty happy I moved them too. I think they have moved on South.

The Double Pink Knockout Roses are still blooming since the weather has cooled down. This is my favorite Knockout of all. I love the color and the cabbage rose shape. They will go until out first frost also, which will take place in the next few weeks. 

(Here is the uncropped photo from above. I thought you might enjoy seeing the roof line of my neighbor's house. The gingerbread is exquisite. That house (1882?)has been on that spot longer than our house has been on ours, but our house is older (1879) than the neighbor's house. Our house was rolled here from a block away in 1887 on logs. The town let school out that day so that the kids could come watch the house being moved.) Picture me in my tshirt, shorts and clogs freezing at 8:02am with the camera held way over my head because these camelias are about 8 feet off the ground. 

I really cannot believe that the camelias are already blooming. This is an unnamed camelia japonica near the Water Garden.

This is a camelia japonica Pink Perfection blooming in the center of the bush.

Miniature Rose

Pickeral Rush is still blooming in the goldfish pond. I don't show this garden much because it is such a neglected mess. 

Here you can see the Sunny Border and the annual Rye Grass in the front yard. Our soil here is extremely acidic (5.1) or something like that - years of ivy in the yard hurt the soil. We can't grow beautiful grass during the Summer, but rye grass doesn't seem to mind the acid so I will be cutting grass this Winter but we enjoy the look of a green yard for part of the year.

Have a Great GBBD!

Chilly Saturday Morning