World’s largest center for growing yellow camellias in suburban Nanning, China

Chen De-long,  Li Ji-yuan

The Guanxi Yuanzhiyuan Eco-agricultural Investment Company Ltd., a newly established agricultural company in Nanning, Guangxi, China, focuses on propagating yellow camellias because of the rapid development of yellow camellia plantations for fresh flower production in southern China in recent years.

The company rented rural land with a total area of 150 ha (2250 mu) in three sites in suburban areas of Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Minority Autonomy Region; i.e. 6.7 ha at Wutang sub-center in Xingning district, 10 ha at Wuhe sub-center and 133.3 ha at Changtang sub-center in Qingxiu district. It established a 3.3 ha mother plant nursery, 3.4 ha of plastic greenhouses for rooting cuttings and 12 ha of plastic greenhouses for growing one or two year old cuttings.

The company has collected and planted 5 yellow camellia species and 300 other camellia cultivars in Wutang sites since 2009 and successfully developed the one-leaf one-bud cutting method with a rooting rate up to 98% on a large scale. These cuttings will usually produce an average of 50 fine roots within 100 days in soil, and grow up to 50-110 cm tall over 27 months. These young camellia plants, usually used as mother trees for harvesting cuttings, will sprout fresh shoots 2 to 4 times a year in the Nanning area.

 The center has raised a total of 3.25million plants on three sites during the past 5 years in Nanning. It raised one million yellow camellia plants aged 3-5 years old on the Wutang site, of which 750,000 were of C.chuangtsoensis, 100,000 of C. nitidissima, 100,000 of C.impressinervis and 50,000 of C.pubipetala. It collected 2,000 yellow camellia mother trees aged about 10 years and 50,000 mother trees aged 2 years for harvesting cuttings on the Wuhe site after 2010. This sub-center propagated one million yellow camellia plants, of which 800,000 were of C. nitidissima, 100,000 of C.impressinervis, 50,000 of C.pubipetala and 50,000 of C.chuangtsoensis. The Changtang site started to operate in 2014 and in that year raised 1.25 million yellow camellia plants, of which one million were of C.nitidissima, 150,000 of C.impressinervis and 50,000 of C.pubipetala.

Photo 1. General Manager Mr Chen De-long at one of his nurseries in the summer 2014

Photo 2.  Mr. Chen De-long shows his yellow camellias cuttings with good fine roots

Photo 3.  Yellow camellia nursery for harvesting cuttings in Wutang site

Photo 4.  Newly established cutting harvest nursery in Changtang site

Photo 5.  Technician measuring one year old C.impressinervis plants in Wuhe site