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I live in Oregon where it rains a lot. I want to get a nice screen
between an ugly neighbor. I'd like to propogate some rhododendrons
and camellias.
I can help you with rhododendrons. They grow slowly so may not be what
you need. Typically they reach the published height of 4 to 6 feet or
more in 10 years. You may want to plant a faster growing screen and
then plant rhododendrons and camelias in front of the screen. Then if
the plants get big enough, you could start removing the fast growing
screen.
Rhododendorn propagation
Only seed from species rhododendron and species azaleas pollinated with
pollen from the same species will come true to the parent plants. Plants
grown from any other seed are hybrids and are not true replicas of the
parent plants. Gather seed capsules in the fall when they turn brown.
Allow them to dry, remove the seeds and keep them in an envelope. In
February, sow the seeds in a small pot containing 50% milled sphagnum
moss and 50% horticultural perlite. Do not cover the seeds with the
medium. The germinating mixture should be sterilized with boiling water
and allowed to cool before sowing. The pot needs to be in a controlled
humid environment. Polyethylene bags are great for maintaining a high
humidity. The pot is placed in a polyethylene bag with stakes to keep
bag away from the germinating seed and placed in a light area with no
direct sunlight. The pot is rotated once or twice a week to compensate
variations in light and temperature.
Propagation of hybrid plants requires a form of cloning. These include
cuttings, tissue culture and layering. Most rhododendron and evergreen
azalea cuttings root fairly easily. Deciduous azaleas require special
techniques to root.
Most evergreen rhododendron and azaleas may be propagated from stem
cuttings. Cuttings are usually taken in the early fall from new growth
that is just hardening off. Cuttings are taken in the morning when full
of moisture. The cuttings are usually terminal cuttings with one whirl
of leaves with the leaves cut in half (to reduce the leaf area) and any
flower buds removed. The cutting has the end cut off just before placing
in hormone powder (containing a fungicide). Then the cuttings are placed
in a flat of sterile media containing a mix of 50% peat moss, and 50%
horticultural perlite or vermiculite. The flat is placed in a
polyethylene bag with struts to keep bag away from the foliage and
placed in a light area with no direct sunlight. The flat is rotated once
or twice a week to compensate variations in light and temperature.
Usually bottom warmth of 75?F is used to encourage root growth. Rooting
usually takes about 6 weeks for evergreen azaleas and 3 to 4 months for
large-leaf rhododendron. Once the cuttings have rooted, pot or
transplant them to flats containing a sterile mix of 60% peat moss and
40% perlite. Fertilize once a month with an acid-based azalea plant food
like Peters. Removing terminal buds promotes sturdy well branched
plants.
Deciduous rhododendron are propagated by seed, grafting or cutting.
Deciduous azaleas are very tricky to propagate from cuttings. Tissue
culture is used to propagate varieties that are difficult to root. It is
a laboratory technique that is very successful.
Take cuttings of deciduous azaleas when the new growth is soft and
pliant. This is often coincident with time of bloom in early June. The
ability to root decreases rapidly as new growth matures. Select cuttings
daily for best results. Trim cuttings below a node (overall length of
cuttings 3 to 5 inches) and dip in a root hormone containing fungicide.
Insert in a medium of 60% peat moss and 40% horticultural perlite.
Usually bottom warmth of 75?F is used to encourage root growth. In late
August, transplant cuttings that are rooted and grow on in the
greenhouse with supplementary light (14-hours a day) to prevent dormancy
and induce new growth. In the fall after new growth has matured,
transfer to a cool, frost-free cool (35?F to 41?F) environment to induce
dormancy. As new growth develops in the spring, transfer plants to a
shaded environment. [after "Rhododendrons and Azaleas" by J. Lounsbery,
Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario, Canada]
Layering is the easiest form of propagation for the home gardener. A
lower branch is held down on soil (not mulch) with a stone. A slit is
cut in an area in contact with the soil and the cut is treated with a
rooting hormone. Then the cut area will sprout roots. When the roots are
developed enough to support the end of the branch, usually in 2 years,
the branch is cut from the parent plant and, if desired, transplanted.
--
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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman