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kal2002

Chansonette Camellia

kal2002
14 years ago

Hi everyone,

I would like to have a camellia tree. Can a camellia shrub be trained to become a tree with only 1 trunk? I bought Chansonette Camellia. Can it be trained into a small tree?

Thanks.

Comments (6)

  • luis_pr
    14 years ago

    Yes but be aware that most camellia trees are usually multi trunks and that it will probably take some time to attain the proper height since they can grow so slowly sometimes. I have included a link here to a posting by Okintos, a Gardenweb Member located in a camellia growing region of Spain. He has wonderful pictures in there, some of tree camellias that are hundreds of years old (I did say that they grow slowly).

    By the way, sometimes, camellias will send off-shoots or suckers so a camellia planted with a single trunk would develop more trunks later on.

    Luis

    Here is a link that might be useful: Camellia Trees in Pazo de Marinan in Galicia, Spain

  • kal2002
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the wonderful links. Those camellia trees are impressive. I will try to train my little camellia into a single trunk tree. Right now it has 3 little trunks so I will cut off the other 2. Do you know if they will root easily?

  • luis_pr
    14 years ago

    Yes but new growth, cut around May, is the easiest to root. See the link (below) to an article on propagation.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Propagation By Cuttings, by the A.C.S.

  • kal2002
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I read that Chansonette camellia grows like a ground cover - only about 2' to 3' and spreading to 8' wide. Is that really true? If so, can it still be trained as a tree camellia?

  • jay_7bsc
    14 years ago

    There are numerous _Camellia sasanqua_ cultivars that are far preferable to 'Chansonette" if tree-like growth is what you want. Bear in mind that all camellias are considered slow-growing evergreen trees. 'Chansonette' is, indeed, compact and spreading. Two tall-growing, tree-like _Camellia sasanqua_ cultivars are 'Setsugekka' and 'Jean May.' We have specimens of those two varieties that are tree-sized, and they've never been trained arborescently. They've just grown into trees on their own. However, the 'Setsugekkas' have been in our yard since the early to mid-nineteen sixties and the 'Jean May' since the early nineteen seventies. I would say they're about the height of a large dogwood--not giants of the forest, but tree-sized, nonetheless.

  • kal2002
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestions. I never considered Setsugekka and Jean May because I prefer bright colors such as reds and bright pinks. I already have Yuletide and a unknown pale pink plant. What do you think about Kanjiro? On some catalogs, they say it is a compact bush. On others, they say it is going to be 10' to 20' evetually - a giant. I am looking for one that is only going to be about 6' to 7' tall. Any suggestions? How about Bonanza? Is it a good one to grow as a small tree? Thanks.

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