Camellia reticulata
| Camellia reticulata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 33' |
| Width: | 16' |
| Blooms: | Early Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Camellia reticulata
Propagation: Seed - can be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[1]. Stored seed should be pre-soaked for 24 hours in warm water and the hard covering around the micropyle should be filed down to leave a thin covering[2][1][3]. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 23°c[3]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions when they are more than 15cm tall and give them some protection from winter cold for their first year or three outdoors[K].
Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, August/September in a shaded frame. High percentage but slow[2]. This species does not strike from cuttings.
Cuttings of firm wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, end of June in a frame[4][2]. Keep in a cool greenhouse for the first year[4]. This species does not strike from cuttings.
Leaf-bud cuttings, July/August in a frame. This species does not strike from cuttings.
Cultivation: Prefers a woodland soil but thrives in a warm open well-drained loam if leafmould is added[5][4][6]. A calcifuge plant, preferring a pH between 5 and 7[4][6]. Prefers the partial shade of a light woodland[6], but established shrubs do well in full sun. They require protection from cold winds.
A very ornamental plant[5] but it is only hardy in mild areas of Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -10°c[7].
Prefers a wet summer and a cool but not very frosty dry winter[6].
Plants are not very self-compatible, self-fertilized flowers produce few seeds and these are of low viability[6].
This species was named after the cultivated garden form, the true wild form is C. reticulata simplex. Sealy[8].
Range: E. Asia - S.W. China in Yunnan.
Habitat: Sparse forests, open pine forests, scrub and thickets on dry often stony hillsides, 1800 - 2700 metres in Yunnan[5][8].
Edibility: An edible oil is obtained from the seed[9][10]. This is a particularly good oil-bearing species[8].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Kunming Institute of Botany. Yunnan Camellias of China.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.