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Transplanting camilleas
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Posted by new_guy_gardener (My Page) on Fri, Aug 29, 08 at 8:32
| Hello
I have a 4 yo camellia that I would like to transplant from the ground to a large pot as its current position is unsuitable. How should I best pot the camellia? Should I be removing the ground soil from the root ball and back filling with potting mix or leaving the ground soil around the root ball and placing it in the pot and filling the remaining space with potting mix. Also should I use any product ie seasol to assist in the transplant to reduce plant stress. Any help would be great.
Danny. |
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RE: Transplanting camilleas
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Hi Danny,
Your member page gives no indication of your actual area in Australia so I don't know if you are warming up or still chilly, and you didn't say what type of camelia.
Now would be the time to do it, and just watch how it settles in. Personally I wouldn't try to remove too much of the ground soil a lot will just fall away anyway, the rest will blend with the potting mix over time. And certainly I would use seasol to help.
Camelias are fairly shallow-rooted, so you'll have to cope with a decision as you go, in terms of how much root-ball there is. Judge the size of the container and width isn't really the problem but depth can be, and you may need to fill 1/3 of the pot bottom with rocks/stones to avoid too much soil - especially in the early days, this can cause root rot. Once the plant gets back on its feet, its far easier to re-pot without such a complete set-back.
Just try to avoid damage to large roots and if anything needs to be trimmed off at that end to fit the pot, consider doing a trim of the plant itself - if it goes into a little decline, its better to trim it back a bit to help it preserve energy and maybe promote a better shape.
Mulch helps everything these days but with camelias and azaleas its risky to have anything too close to the trunk, I like to have the plant just slightly higher in a mound than the rest of the soil so that the water flows to the edge of the pot and to the roots that way.
One water with your shock-reducer to settle the potting mix and move it into a little shade for a couple of days then gradually bring out into brighter lightv and don;t water again till its starting to dry out on top. One of those all-round premium pot mixes would be good, otherwise don't fertilize for a month or 6 weeks, when you see some new growth, you'll know you've succeeded.
Raise the tub off the ground too, plant feet or just a couple of bricks, amazing what damage slugs, worms and ants can do over time.
Good luck
Alison |
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