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In nature, camellias are large bushes or trees with a loose crown that grows to several meters. But at home, care for the camellia flower, in the photo, is not given to all flower growers. The beauty famous for winter flowering is sometimes obstinate and does not want to adapt to living indoors. instagram for desktop and computer https://gramhum.com/ Browse Instagram with the best experience.
And yet, knowing the secrets of the plant, creating conditions for it as close as possible to nature, one can hope for the favor of camellia. With experienced lovers of indoor crops, with proper care, the camellia feels great, forms a lot of buds, blooming every year to the joy of others.
Features of camellia and flower care at home
Decorative varieties and varieties of camellias, of which there are several thousand in the world, are amazingly beautiful. They cannot be confused with other cultures. And in terms of splendor and the shape of the flower, camellia competes only with a garden rose. Smooth leathery leaves of saturated green color have a pointed-elliptical shape and are attached to the shoots with short dense petioles. Flowers, depending on the type, can be simple or double, white, pale pink, saturated raspberry or even motley.
Most often in home collections you can find three types of this plant:
- Japanese camellia or Camellia japonica;
- net camellia or Camellia reticulata;
- Camellia mountain or Camellia sasanqua.
They gave the world the largest number of varieties and hybrids used by gardeners.
Seeing this miracle only once, it is difficult to give up temptation. But so that the acquired flower does not die, it will be necessary to establish special care for camellia, when growing it at home.
This means that the beauty of the home create a semblance of a natural climate, provide:
- moderate temperatures in the summer;
- cool in winter;
- high humidity;
- nutritious ultralight substrate;
- protection against drafts and direct sun.
If all conditions are met, the maintenance and care of the flower is established, the camellia, as in the photo, will respond with friendly flowering, lasting from 2 to 4 months.
Conditions for growing camellia and home care
If you describe the characteristics of the camellia flower, indicating that the plant withstands frosts down to –5 ° C, blooms at +10 ° C, almost It has a period of rest and incredibly decorative almost the whole year, you would think that it is better culture for the home collection no. But this is not so. The complexity of the content of camellia is that creating such conditions in the apartment is extremely difficult.
It is unlikely to enjoy the camellia bloom without a bright closed balcony, a loggia, a terrace or a winter garden. it will turn out, because the plant opens buds in the winter, and the growth of greenery begins with the advent spring.
How to care for camellia at home? Throughout the year, camellia needs a long day, up to 12-14 hours, but does not respond well to direct sunlight. Therefore, on the southern windows in the summer, shrubs are provided with shading. But on the north side, the plant will be completely uncomfortable, as it signals elongated shoots, pale and shredded foliage. With a decrease in natural light, when autumn comes, camellias arrange artificial lighting.
If in spring and summer, camellias are kept at room temperature, then with the onset of autumn, it will be harmful to the plant to be in a warm room. It is transferred to a glazed loggia or to a insulated balcony, to a terrace or to another place where the temperature will be about 12-15 ° C.
With proper care and maintenance, the camellia flower, as in the photo, will lay many buds, and flowering will begin in winter, continuing even at low sub-zero temperatures up to –10 ° C.
Watering and fertilizing when caring for room camellia at home
Camellia care is built in such a way that in nature most species grow in areas with a fairly humid climate, which affects the needs of the plant:
- In summer, camellias need frequent plentiful watering. This is due to the consumption of actively growing shrubs, and a large evaporation of moisture in the soil surface.
- In winter, at low temperatures, although camellia blooms, it needs less water. Therefore, the substrate is moistened only by drying an earthen coma in a pot.
Excessive moisture in the soil mixture in the summer and winter is unacceptable, because it leads to the multiplication of bacteria, soil pests and causes rot of the root system.
The water is used distilled, thawed or boiled. When caring for camellias, citric or acetic acid is occasionally added to the water to maintain a soil acidity level that is comfortable for the plant. The increased content of calcium salts and other impurities adversely affects the condition of the flower.
In addition to competent watering, it is important for camellias to ensure maintenance in humid air. Operating heating devices will cause the leaves and already formed buds to fall off, therefore:
- if necessary, you can use a humidifier;
- arrange a roomy beauty with a warm spray shower, trying not to touch the surface of the soil.
With the beginning of active growth, that is, in the spring, they begin to regularly feed the pets. This procedure, as part of caring for the camellia flower, is carried out 2-3 times a month until the end of July, feeding shrubs with organic matter and minerals. Then, in the second half of August, fertilizer is stopped, which will help camellias begin to form flower buds, and then buds.
House Camellia transplant for home care
In nature, camellias are large shrubs. At home, the flower also grows very much, therefore it requires:
- regular transplant into a pot of larger capacity;
- adding fresh substrate.
Transshipment of young plants is carried out every year, and adult specimens - no more than once every 2-3 years as the root system fills the entire volume of the pot.
Unlike other species that are transferred to new soil in spring, indoor camellias are transplanted in late autumn or winter. Lush flowering is not a hindrance to this procedure. Buds and already open corollas will not fall.
The vagaries of camellia relate not only to the air temperature at the time of flowering and its increased humidity, but also to the composition of the substrate. To simplify the care of the camellia flower, as in the photo, at home they select it as much as possible structured light soil that provides the plant with good nutrition and does not impede the passage of water and air.
In this case, the increased acidity of the soil at a pH level of 4.0–5.5 units is extremely important. If it is not possible to independently make the required substrate from equal shares of leaf and coniferous land, perlite, peat and adding a small amount of crushed bark of coniferous trees and sand to give a mixture of friability, you can purchase ready-made soil for azaleas.
At the bottom of the pot, drainage is made, a little soil is poured on top, on top of which a bush with a spread root system is placed. The substrate is poured neatly, easily crushing around azaleas.
The soil must not be allowed to hide the root neck. The same rules for the care of camellias are followed if the surface of the soil is mulched with acidifying soil chips, sawdust or crushed bark.
Pruning and pinching camellias for flower care
Pruning is an essential part of caring for a camellia flower growing in a room. In addition to the sanitary removal of weakened, damaged and dried shoots, be sure to crown formation, otherwise the bush loses its compactness, grows and becomes unsuitable for content in the house.
The formation of the crown of camellia is done at a time when mass flowering is in decline, and the plant does not form new buds. Depending on the type of indoor flower, camellias are cut up to half the length of the shoots. Places of large sections are treated with garden var.
Experienced flower growers with the help of pruning and shaping receive from the camellias elegant standard trees or miniature bonsai. Pruning and pinching help activate branching, so you can expect that after such a departure, the camellia will bloom much brighter and more abundant.
But at the stage of bud formation, the grower should evaluate the strength of the plant and adjust the number of future flowers on the shoots. If there are too many buds, they will weaken the camellia, and the bush will still not be able to hold the large corollas open for a long time.
