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Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: January 4th, 2018, 3:28 pm
by melbrackstone
Hi all, has anyone successfully dug a Camellia that's been in the ground for 30 years?

I'm wondering if it's possible, and when would be the best time..(or should I just air layer them.)

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: January 5th, 2018, 5:39 am
by Jdceng
Hi Melbrackstone

I have straight after flowering and they were my mothers and around forty years, dam hard work though BTW.

I was lucky all four survived, I made sure that I had plenty of fine roots, potted them up into large pots for a couple of seasons to recover.

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: January 5th, 2018, 7:57 am
by melbrackstone
oh great, thanks Jdceng. I'll wait til they flower again. :)

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: May 16th, 2018, 10:46 pm
by Raging Bull
Hi Mel,
I just came across this thread. Did you dig the Camellia or air layer it? I'd be interested in an update.
I air layered a camellia about a year ago. It took about 3-4 months, but it did strike roots and is now thriving in a grow pot. The mother plant in my garden is covered in flowers at the moment, and the potted air layer plant has a lot of buds, the first of which has just opened, with most of the others not far behind.For a while the leaves were quite yellowish after air layering, but they are now back to a lush dark green. I've attached a pic of the air layer taken just over a month ago.
Cheers,
Frank

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 7:43 am
by melbrackstone
Hey thanks for the info Frank

I haven't dug the Camellia yet, although I did try an air layer a couple of years ago. It wasn't a success, but that could have been because I really had no idea back then. So pleased to see yours powering along.

I might see if I can remember to do an air layer on it again, I suspect it'll be more likely to succeed if I do it in late Winter early Spring though.

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 7:55 pm
by shibui
I have straight after flowering and they were my mothers and around forty years, dam hard work though BTW.
I was lucky all four survived, I made sure that I had plenty of fine roots, potted them up into large pots for a couple of seasons to recover.
I'm not sure that was luck. Camellia seem to be pretty easy to transplant so most attempts should be successful. After flowering is a good guide for most species but late spring, as the weather starts to get warm is also a good time to transplant these. I suspect you could probably have success at most times of the year with camellia.
As JD points out, camellia roots are very hard so you'll need a sharp axe or good saw to cut most roots. Probably need to dig a large hole so you can burrow under the trunk and cut any vertical roots as well. Don't be too frightened to prune large roots back quite short. They will nearly always sprout new roots from the cut ends if given reasonable conditions after transplant.

Just need to consider the size of this project. You'll probably need a pot at least 4-5 times the diameter of the trunk at ground level to fit even hard cut roots. I'm always surprised at how much collected trees seem to expand between digging and potting. :roll:

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 8:01 pm
by melbrackstone
Just need to consider the size of this project. You'll probably need a pot at least 4-5 times the diameter of the trunk at ground level to fit even hard cut roots. I'm always surprised at how much collected trees seem to expand between digging and potting
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: May 18th, 2018, 6:33 am
by dansai
I got a phone call about 2 weeks ago to see if I wanted some Camellias that had been dug out from a garden. When I picked them up I found out they had been ripped out by a machine and left lying on the ground for 3 days with little soil on the roots. I cut most foliage off and with what is left, about half looks a bit tired while the rest still looks fine. I noticed a few small buds starting to push yesterday. I'll keep you updated with the progress, but it would seem that as shibui said, these transplant well.

Re: Digging Camellia japonica and sasanqua hints

Posted: May 18th, 2018, 9:42 am
by melbrackstone
Encouraging news, thanks @dansai!