Q: I'd like to propagate a family member's camellia as a memento, but don't know when cuttings should be taken or what's the best way to root them. What do you suggest?
You'll probably need to wait until next year at this point. If you have the luxury of time, prepare in advance to have ample softwood by giving mature plants a light trim during the growing season. If the plant is already producing ample new growth on its own, this won't be necessary. Mid- to late-summer is suggested as the ideal time to take cuttings so the stems have semi-hardened by then.
The late Dr. William Ackerman, plant scientist and camellia breeder, notes in his book "Beyond the Camellia Belt: Breeding, Propagating, and Growing Cold-Hardy Camellias" that the base of the cutting should be "beginning to harden and turn woody," which occurs around mid-July and runs into early autumn in Maryland. I have read that the October-November timeframe is sometimes cooperative for taking cuttings, although in that case, expect rooting to commence only in spring.
Ackerman suggests an ideal cutting length of five nodes. Nodes are the points on the stem where leaves attach.
Rooting hormone can help speed up rooting, and some formulations contain a fungicide to prevent stem rot. Products come with different concentrations of hormone, and the later in the season cuttings are taken, the stronger the concentration will need to be. Keep cuttings out of direct sunlight. If they are being rooted indoors, try using bottom heat from a seedling heat mat or another mild source of warmth, as this will also encourage rooting. Even with all of those measures, it can take 6 to 8 weeks or longer for cuttings to root, depending on the time of year and the maturity of the wood used.
Propagation by grafting, air-layering, and seed collection and germination are also covered in Ackerman's book, but taking cuttings is the most widely-used method. The genetics of any given seed may be potluck, so if you are trying to preserve the exact variety when you propagate, you'll need to use cuttings or air-layering, since they produce copies of the same plant. The American Camellia Society has propagation tips on its Rooting Camellias web page.
Q: Twigs from my oak trees were falling a while ago, and both the trees and those pieces appear to be healthy. I thought they might have broken off along scars from old cicada damage, but it doesn't appear so. Squirrels?
It could be squirrels, since they snip off twigs to repair or build their nests. If this began in summer, it could also be the work of twig pruner or twig girdler beetles, both of which chew off twigs. More than one of these culprits is contributing to the situation if it's continued for several weeks.
Twig girdler females drop twigs with eggs laid in them in late summer or early autumn. The larvae overwinter and feed on the twigs until summer, when they mature. The cut ends look like a tiny beaver chiseled the twig, pointed in the center and sloped outwards to the bark perimeter. Adults can be attracted to light and sometimes congregate on a single tree, so think of this as one good reason to reconsider decoratively up-lighting trees at night.
Twig Pruner females lay eggs in twigs that are still attached, and it's the larvae that sever the connection in late summer, dropping to the ground inside the twig. They overwinter in the twigs as pupae. These beetle adults are also attracted to light, so you may see some around a lit porch or deck door next spring. Their twig cut ends are concave, so the inverse of the above.
Both beetles are minor pests and don't warrant control. If you want to try to suppress the next generation, rake up and compost the fallen twigs. Squirrels, you can't do much about them, at least not using any tactic that works for very long, but fortunately, this twig tip loss won't hurt a mature tree and can be ignored.