Care and cultivation in the camellia garden
For garden camellias, a comparison with rosesbut only blooming when all the plants are at rest, in winter. But the similarity of cultures is limited only by the splendor and shape of the flowers, the care and cultivation of camellia in the garden is strikingly different from the agricultural technology of other ornamental shrubs.
The reason for the uniqueness of camellias is in the peculiarities of their growth in the wild in the regions native to plants. In the humid, close to subtropical climate of southeast Asia, flowering shrubs and small camellia trees have been used for many centuries for landscaping park and palace complexes.
In moderately hot summers and winters with small subzero temperatures, the culture feels great in the open field. But is it possible to grow and care for garden camellia on the street in Russian conditions? See photo of saxifrage!
The history of growing and caring for camellia in the garden
- which have become more resistant to frost than wild species;
- with a longer flowering period;
- with rims unique in shape, size and variety of colors.
The oldest specimens of camellias, once exported from Japan and China, can still be seen in the greenhouses of Britain, in the garden of the old royal residence in Dresden and in the parks of Spain.
And at the disposal of modern lovers of flowering shrubs, garden camellias, as in the photo, with flowers resembling peonies, roses of different types and even anemones. Among the camellias there are trees and shrub forms.
Plants are able to withstand significant cold, but camellias are unlikely to survive at temperatures below –20 ° C. The most winter-hardy varieties are considered today: Donation, Jury's Yellow, Debbie, Hagoromo. The flowering of these varieties is delayed until spring, but in winter they retain their bright green foliage.
Conditions for the care and cultivation of garden camellia
But even such frost-resistant plants will not be able to withstand the cold weather in the middle zone of the country. Therefore, here garden camellias are grown in large containers, for the winter they are brought into a cool room, on a terrace or in a greenhouse.
Camellia does well in pots at temperatures of 10-15 ° C. If the plant is provided with good, but diffused lighting for 12-14 hours a day, then caring for the camellia when growing in the garden will not be difficult. The shrub will pick up color in time and will delight the gardener with an abundance of wonderful flowers.
In regions with milder winters, evergreen bushes are covered, and in the subtropical zone, garden camellias, as in the photo, from February to mid-spring are covered with many spectacular flowers up to 10 cm in diameter.
Camellias blooming in the garden can suffer not only from frost, but also from the bright winter sun, which is active in the morning hours.
To prevent foliage and flower petals from turning black and not dying, thawing after the night, it is better to shade the plants or cover them with non-woven material at night. The same measure will help preserve bushes if cold winter winds are frequent on the site.
Since garden camellias, in the photo, tolerate partial shade well, the crowns of garden trees can protect them from the negative effects of the environment.When choosing neighbors for an ornamental culture, it is only important to take into account that camellias love acidic soil, which not all garden dwellers like.
Camellias grow well under the shelter of fences, near the walls of houses and outbuildings. With the help of supports and trellises, gardeners successfully grow a climbing camellia in the garden, which, with the help of painstaking shaping, is given a flat vertical shape.
Planting and caring for garden camellia
In addition to knowing the correct planting site for garden camellia and caring for it, the gardener must understand the plant's requirements for the soil, watering and feeding. But the life of a culture in the open field begins with the planting of shrubs.
The planting hole for the garden camellia is made twice as wide and deeper than the earthen lump of the seedling. This is done so that the plant immediately falls into the nutritious enough acidic soil, which is necessary for the capricious beauty for growth and flowering.
The soil for garden camellia, in the photo, consists of equal shares of humus, coniferous earth, high peat and sand. To acidify the soil, chopped spruce or pine bark can be added to the substrate. The selected mixture should be loose, light and structured. In such a soil, the roots of camellia:
- get the required amount of air and moisture:
- not at risk of decay;
- will actively grow, helping to get nutrition for the aboveground part of the bush.
At the bottom of the pit, a drainage layer is made, prepared soil is poured over it so that after filling the coma placed on the bottom, the root collar of the bush does not end up under the soil layer. In this case, the planting of a camellia for care in the garden is carried out correctly. The surface of the soil is mulched with needles, sawdust, shavings or bark in order to:
- prevent moisture evaporation;
- gradually replenish the acidity of the substrate.
By autumn, the layer of mulch is increased, carefully covering the base of the camellia. Such a measure will help to avoid damage to the bush from frost spreading over the soil and lack of snow at the beginning of winter.
To simplify the care of the garden camellia, planting is carried out in late autumn or at the end of winter, when the plant has not yet begun to actively grow shoots. In this case, the shrub acclimatizes well and quickly begins to grow, perceiving both watering and fertilization.
Watering and feeding camellia when leaving and planting in the garden
Top dressing of garden camellia is carried out from spring to the end of July. The shrub accepts well the introduction of complex additives, which can be replaced with a one-time feeding with granulated bird droppings at the beginning of summer.
The plant, like other garden dwellers, needs water. The most abundant and frequent watering is in spring and summer, but since autumn, together with a restriction in fertilizers, they reduce soil moisture. This care measure when growing camellias in the garden stimulates the appearance of buds.
So that all the efforts spent on planting and caring for the camellia in the garden are not in vain, when buying planting material, it is important to make sure that the selected variety is able to survive in winter conditions in the open field. If in doubt, it is more reasonable to choose a suitable container for the seedling and grow the camellia as a pot culture, which will have to be transferred to a cool room for the winter.