Care and cultivation of room camellia

In nature, camellias are large bushes or trees with a loose crown that grows up to several meters. But at home, caring for a camellia flower, in the photo, is not given to all growers. The beauty, famous for its winter flowering, sometimes turns out to be obstinate and does not want to adapt to living indoors.

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 the camellia. For experienced lovers of indoor crops, with proper care, camellia feels great, forms many buds, blooming every year to the delight 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 the splendor and shape of the flower, camellia competes only with garden rose... Smooth leathery leaves of rich green color have a pointed-elliptical shape and are attached to the shoots with short dense petioles. Flowers, depending on the species, can be simple or double, white, pale pink, deep crimson or even variegated.

Most often, you can find three types of this plant in home collections:

• camellia japanese or Camellia japonica;
• net camellia or Camellia reticulata;
• mountain camellia or Camellia sasanqua.

They gave the world the largest number of varieties and hybrids used by flower growers.

Having seen this miracle only once, it is difficult to give up the temptation. But so that the acquired flower does not die, you will have to establish special care for the camellia, when growing it at home.

This means that they create a semblance of a natural climate for a home beauty, provide:

• moderate temperatures in summer;
• coolness in winter;
• high air humidity;
• nutritious ultra-light substrate;
• protection from drafts and direct sun.

If all the 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 we describe the features of the camellia flower, indicating that the plant can withstand frosts down to –5 ° C, blooms at + 10 ° C, has almost no dormancy period and is incredibly decorative almost all year round, you might think that there is no better culture for a home collection. But this is not the case. The difficulty of keeping camellia is that it is extremely difficult to create such conditions in an apartment.

Without a light enclosed balcony, loggia, terrace or winter garden, enjoying the flowering of camellia is unlikely to work, because the opening of the buds of the plant occurs in the winter, and the growth of greenery begins with the arrival of spring.

How to care for camellia at home? Throughout the year, camellia needs a long day, up to 12-14 hours, a day of light, but it reacts poorly to direct sunlight. Therefore, shading is provided on the southern windows in summer. But on the northern side, the plant will be completely uncomfortable, which it signals with elongated shoots, pale and crushed foliage. With a decrease in natural light, when autumn comes, camellias are arranged artificial lighting.

If in spring and summer, camellias are kept at room temperature, then with the onset of autumn it will be harmful for the plant to be in a warm room. It is transferred to a glazed loggia or an 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 temperatures down 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:

1. In the summer, indoor camellias need frequent abundant watering. This is due to the consumption of actively growing shrubs, and the high evaporation of moisture in the soil surface.
2. In winter, at low temperatures, although camellia blooms, it needs less water. Therefore, the substrate is moistened only when the earthen coma in the pot is dried.

Excessive moisture in the soil mixture in both summer and winter is unacceptable, as it leads to the multiplication of bacteria, soil pests and causes root rot.

Water is used standing, 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 proper watering, it is important for camellias to keep them in humid air. Working heating devices will cause foliage and already formed buds to fall off, therefore:

• if necessary, you can use a humidifier;
• arrange a warm shower from a spray bottle for the room beauty, trying not to touch the soil surface.

With the onset of active growth, that is, in the spring, they begin to regularly feed the pets. This procedure, as part of the care of the camellia flower, is carried out 2-3 times a month until the end of July, feeding the shrubs with organics and minerals. Then, in the second half of August, fertilization is stopped, which will help the camellia begin the formation of flower buds, and then buds.

Transplanting room camellia with home care

In nature, camellias are large shrubs. Under home conditions, the flower also grows strongly, therefore it requires:

• regular transplanting into a larger pot;
• adding fresh substrate.

Transfer of young plants is carried out every year, and adult specimens - no more than once every 2-3 years as the entire volume of the pot is filled with the root system.

Unlike other species, which are transferred to new soil in the spring, indoor camellias are transplanted in late autumn or winter. Lush bloom is not a hindrance to this procedure. The buds and the already opened corollas will not fall off.

The whims of camellia relate not only to the air temperature at the time of flowering and its high 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 the most structured light soil for the plant, which provides the plant with good nutrition and does not interfere with 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 soil, perlite, high peat and adding a small amount of crushed coniferous bark and sand to make the mixture friable, you can purchase ready-made soil for azaleas.

Drainage is done at the bottom of the pot, a little soil is poured over it, on top of which a shrub with a straightened root system is placed. The substrate is poured carefully, easily crushing around the azalea.

The soil should not be allowed to hide the root collar.The same rules for caring for camellias are followed if the surface of the soil is mulched with shavings, sawdust or crushed bark acidifying the soil.

Pruning and pinching camellias when caring for a flower

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, the formation of the crown must be carried out, otherwise the bush loses its compactness, grows and becomes unsuitable for keeping in the house.

The formation of the camellia crown is done during a period when the mass flowering is declining 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 cuts are treated with garden pitch.

Experienced growers, using pruning and shaping, get graceful standard trees or miniature bonsais from camellias. Pruning and pinching helps to activate branching, so you can expect camellia to bloom much brighter and more abundantly after this care.

But at the stage of bud formation, the florist 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 shrub will still not be able to hold the large corollas that have opened for a long time.

Subtleties of camellia care - video