How to Grow Camellias From Seeds

Camellias produce seed in the fall.

Grow camellias for their attractive flowers that bloom in colors ranging from white and pink to red. Camellias flower in late spring or early summer, and provide green foliage throughout the summer months. Sowing seeds allows you to grow your own bushes. Seeds should be planted as soon as they ripen in midsummer, as they do not remain viable for long once stored. Plants grown from seed are not true to the parent plant, so sow several seeds to ensure you get a camellia bush that is healthy and blooms well.

Things You'll Need

• Pot
• Potting soil
• Plastic bag

Instructions

1. Fill a 3- to 5-inch diameter pot with a well-drained soilless potting mix that contains peat and either perlite or vermiculite. Use a pot with at least one drainage hole in the bottom.

2. Water the potting mix until the excess drains from the bottom and into the drip tray. Leave the pot to sit in the standing water for 30 minutes to ensure the medium is thoroughly moistened, then pour out any excess water.

3. Sow one seed per pot. Locate the small eye on the seed, which resembles a bump, and set the seed in the soil with the eye facing down. Cover the seed with a ¼-inch layer of peat.

4. Mist the surface of the potting mix with water to moisten it. Cover the pot with a plastic bag to help retain moisture, then set the pot in a warm, 70- to 75-degree F room to germinate.

5. Remove the plastic bag once the seed sprouts. Move the pot to a warm, sunny window sill and water when the surface of the potting mix begins to feel dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Transplant camellia to the garden or to a permanent pot the following spring after all frost danger is past.

• If you are planting older seeds that weren't recently collected, nick the outer seed coat with sandpaper to help encourage germination.

References

• University of Florida Extension: Camellias in Florida
• Alabama Cooperative Extension: The Culture of Camellias