Sunday, October 28, 2012

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!

8 comments:

  1. Wow!! Good job David! I haven't done this kind of air-layering since I had a Fiddleback Fig tree 30 years ago. I have a Japanese maple that I would like to try this with next spring.

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    1. if you are ever this way i'll give you one

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    2. you don't have to offer twice!! Would you believe Pink Perfection is one I was looking for in the spring? Love that one!!

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  2. Wow, you really did figure this out. I like seeing that you had such a great success rate. The one red maple may surprise you and take off anyway. I will have to consider doing this to get more trees from my red maple. Thanks for sharing this.

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  3. I'm so inspired! I'm definitely going to try this with my camellias. Your hedge will be stunning! Congrats!

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  4. david, I found your blog again by following a link from a post you made on mine. I am glad i did. I havent tried air layering for many many yrs,before home computers and research. With the kind of results you got, i am going to have to check into this again. I have done tip rooting (some by accident), most recent with a new black berry vine. Great job!

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    1. Thanks Tammy! I hope you have great luck when you try it.

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