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Perennial evergreen Chinese Camellia bush is one of the most common plants in India, China and other countries in the region. This is not surprising, because under the species name hides the well-known tea plant.
As an ornamental indoor culture, this plant has not yet found wide distribution for two reasons:
- is a beautifully flowering species of camellia to compete with the culture;
- perennial, even with slow growth, requires mandatory haircuts and crown shaping.
Still, Chinese camellia is an extremely interesting species, worthy of being grown by a patient florist.
Shaky-elliptical Chinese tea camellia with a jagged edge and dark green color leathery leaves. As long as the sheet plate unfolds, it has a lighter shade, more subtle and delicate. On average, the length of the leaves reaches 7, and its width is 4 cm.
The flowering of Chinese camellia is more modest than that of its Japanese “relative”.Simple flowers with a diameter of up to 4 cm appear from the sinuses, often in pairs. It will not be possible to see the corollas of some bright or variegated color. Corollas are white or creamy pink, with a convex yellow middle.
After pollination in place of flowers, round-flattened tricuspid boxes are formed, inside which are fairly large seeds that ripen at home by the beginning of winter.
Care for a camellia flower at home
Chinese tea camellia can be considered an unpretentious room culture, and yet the plant has its own preferences that are important to consider. First of all, the mandatory requirements include growing in loose, rich in organic matter, but always light soil with an acidic reaction. As such a substrate, you can take the finished mixture for azaleas, where it is useful to add a little peat and sand. The second option is a ground of coniferous forest with pieces of bark and needles.
Planted young bushes need warmth and good lighting. Plants are exposed to bright windows, where there is the possibility of shading greenery from direct midday rays, which is especially important in the summer.
In the warm season, caring for a camellia flower at home comes down to regular watering, feeding and pruning, which is carefully done in late August.
The plant easily adapts to summer temperatures, so Chinese camellia is often transferred to balconies, country verandas or to the garden. But with the onset of autumn, it is better to transfer the pot to heat.
The optimum temperature for a period of relative rest is 15 ° C.A further cold snap threatens the oppression and death of the plant.
On hot days and when the plant is in a heated room, Chinese camellia is useful to spray boiled warm water. Watering is carried out so that with the active growing season the soil under the bush is always wet. However, the excess must be regularly drained. Culture perfectly perceives irrigation with acidified water. Mulching works well with bark and shredded steamed needles.
Several years after planting, the plants require an annual transplant. Then growth slows down, and the camellia can be turned over into a large container in 2–4 years, taking into account the condition of the plant.
For propagation of a plant, it is easy to use the apical cuttings obtained during August pruning. Rooting is carried out in a light substrate or water under a film cover. But besides this method, it is possible to grow camellia from seeds.
Growing Chinese tea camellia from
seeds Seeds for winter or spring sowing can be obtained from an adult bush or purchased at a store.
- Before embedding, the seed is tested for germination by immersion in water and removing light, pop-up seeds.
- Then the seeds intended for growing Chinese tea camellia at home are immersed in hot water, where they are kept for several hours. This procedure can be replaced by soaking for 48 hours in room temperature water.
- The prepared seeds are pressed 3-5 cm into the wet mixture of coniferous earth, sand and peat.
- Capacity with crops is covered with a film or glass and left at a temperature of 22–25 ° C.
The soil before germination, after 1-2 months, must retain moisture, while the greenhouse must be aired, briefly opening the film.
Dive shoots should be when opening at least a pair of true leaves. Already at this age, Chinese poppies are prepared by individual pots, and during planting it is important not to bury the root neck.
In the first year, the growth of the shrub does not exceed 30 cm, and then it becomes even smaller. In the second year of life, the camellia blooms, and the collection of leaves for home-made flavored tea can begin in 5–7 years. With good care, camellia at home becomes a real longevity and has been adjacent to a person for more than a dozen years.
