Camellia Cuttings

So one of the things that brought me looking for a gardening forum was taking cuttings from specific plants, one of these in question is a Camellia. We bought this as there was one growing at the hospital where my daughter passed away and it took a special place in my wife's heart (and my mother in laws).

The downside to this is we would like to move house in a few years and as this plant is quite well established I would be loath to move it and risk it dying in transit or something because that would break her heart.

So what I thought was I would look to take some cuttings, it would give me a couple of years to perfect it and hopefully get a couple of new Camellia's from it (it would be nice to give one to the mother in law as well). I would buy a new one but I always seem to miss the season they are being sold in and this particular variant doesn't seem to be stocked in any of my local stores.

So I'm after advice on tools that I would need, the best way to take a cutting and the right time to. With the plant about to come into bloom I would imagine it's going to be after the last flower heads have died back?

 

@Luseth In this case I would search the internet there are lots of guides and videos out there and you can watch/read several and decide which suits you best.
They should take about 2 months to produce roots. Take more cuttings than you think you might need. Camellias can also be layered which is slower process, but may suit you better.
Good luck with the project.

 

I took 4 camellia cuttings last autumn, I've got one left that hasn't rotted.
I've tried on a couple of previous occasions without success, I dont find them easy.

I think Nigel's idea of layering could be worth a try or you could try air layering, either the traditional way of doing it with plastic bags or those plastic balls you can buy on E bay.
Plant Rooting Ball High Pressure Propagation Grow Box Air Layering Pod Reusable | eBay

This kind of thing, lots of variations available.

 

Thank you both, I had never heard layering before but it's certainly something I am going to look at, looking at the plant it certainly looks feasible with a couple of the branches it has.

Really appreciated

I will check out some youtube videos and that first as I have a bit of time, make sure I understand what I'm doing as much as possible first ^_^

 

I'd go down the layering to get another plant . How long has the camellia been planted ? I moved one last year ( twice ) which had been in that place for a good 6-7 years , they have a shallow fibrous root system so not really a problem to move. Personally I'd be taking it with me.

 

Hi @Luseth do you know the name of the variety? You can look on the RHS Plant Finder website to see who might be selling it - either by mail order or at a nursery. I have also tried cuttings and found them tricky, and unless you air layer, you need to be sure you can get some branches to sit VERY firmly into your rooting medium (I've had to use bent wires, large stones etc). At least if you don't intend moving for a few years you can have multiple attempts.

 

Thank you both

It's only been planted for 3 and a half years, it's about 4 years old I would say, if the root system is shallow I might give it a try.

The full name is a camellia japonica 'desire' so I imagine the desire is the variety? I have looked on there and there is one store close by so once they come into bloom we will go and take a look. We have been adverse to buying one of the options online as the flower heads have got to look similar to the one my wife remembers from the hospital (as our existing one does) so having somewhere local will allow us to go and take a look thank you