by Fran Copeland
Growing Camellias from Seed
A few summers ago, I noticed some balls growing on some camellias. They resembled green pecans. By fall, they really resembled pecans. The green pod had turned brown and opened. I searched the ground underneath and found some brown seeds that looked like small chestnuts. I checked the other camellias and found a few more that had pods, so I searched under the camellia for seeds. Altogether, there was a jeans pocket full. They sat in a bowl in my kitchen until after Christmas when I decided to plant them. I put them in several planters with moistened soil, covered them with plastic wrap, put them in my bathroom, which has a bay window with a southern exposure, and promptly forgot them.
wanted the seeds, he was welcome to them. Discretion being the better part of valor, I backed away and didn’t look again.
put some lightweight shelves in the bathroom. I filled the cups with moistened potting soil, put in at least one seed, covered it with soil, put on the lid, This past 79 germinated cups on porch and stacked fall, in them in 2016, the bathroom. My other plantings after collecting a BUNCH of seeds, had produced from 20 to 40 percent I didn’t want to damage them by germination in the planters. I hoped tearing them out of these would do as well. When I started planters. There should checking around the first of April, I be a better way – one One morning found over 20 had germinated. Over that wouldn’t require in the spring, the succeeding weeks, I found a total separating roots or something of 79 completely out of the ground dumping them on the green pushing and 30 with viable seeds, which should ground. What could the plastic continue to germinate. That’s 109 handle a relatively long wrap caught out of 207, or 53%!! WOW!! What root, require little or my eye. I a thrill! It seems like my winter 2017 no watering, provide jerked off the experiment worked. A few had grown easy access to plant? plastic and, enough to donate a dozen to the Voila! Tall Dixie cups! 207 Dixie cups in bathroom to my utter Master Gardener Annual Plant Sale If they germinated, surprise, in April. They were named “Camellia they would slide out several seeds had germinated and Surprise”, since I have no clue what or you could cut down the side of the the leaves were trying to escape. they are. cup and get the Altogether, about 30 – 40 germinated. plant out. Also, Fran Copeland, an intern in By the time, they appeared big enough the cups had lids the 2017 Master Gardener to survive outdoors, the numbers had which would serve Class, lives in Shorter. dwindled. I tried to get them out of two purposes. For more information the planters one by one, but the roots They would hold on becoming a master were too long. I dumped the planters the moisture gardener, visit www. capcitymga.org or email on the ground, which tore up a few, in the soil and capcitymga@gmail.com then planted them in a flower bed prevent messes behind some camellias where they from occurring 12 donated to plant sale would be protected from the sun and if the cups got freezing winds. Some are now about 3 knocked over in feet tall. Most died from neglect. the bathroom. In the fall of 2015, when I started to look for seeds, I heard a rattle under the largest camellia. If a rattlesnake
On January 16, 2017, I planted 207 16 oz. Dixie cups with seeds. My bathtub had been covered with slats and I
12 BOOM!
June 2017
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