SHRUBS > CAMELLIA > PRUNING

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CAMELLIA GUIDES

red flowering camellia flowers growing outside

Container GrowingDeadheadingFeedingProblems – Buds Falling Off – Brown LeavesPruningSoil RequirementsSowingVarieties – Common Camellia – Red VarietiesWinter Care

Camellias are reckoned to be plants of choice for formal garden , but no matter what your garden type , one of the 3,000 - plus hybrid will make a endearing evergreen plant bush to display beside your front room access .

So how much prison term would you have to sic aside for a camellia shrub if you grew one ?

someone pinching the pink flower of a camellia

Well , where pruning is concerned , camellias are conceive low - care plants .

You do n’t have to prune a camelia shrub at all , but if you would like to keep your bush in backsheesh - top bod here are a few Spanish pointer :

These optional tasks are explicate in more depth below .

someone using a pair of secateurs to prune the stem of a camellia growing outdoors

1) Deadhead Throughout The Flowering Season

Deadheading is an ongoing gardening task that can be carried out during the unfolding season .

This task can be carried out to maximise the plant ’s cosmetic value and to turn back the product of seeds , which will help the flora focus on bring forth more beautiful blooms .

Simply purloin off wither ( or shriveled ) blossom by holding the husk between thumb and fingers and pull off with a quick kink - turn .

pink flowering camellia shrub growing outside

Alternatively , you could always use secateurs for more assured and cleaner deadheading if you are uncertain about swipe off wilting blooms .

Simply cut the stalk 2 - 3 cm from the flower . See more on deadheadinghere .

2) Prune Back After Flowering

Patricia Short from the International Camellia Society suggests that your camelia bloom might not involve to go to barren after the flowering season has end :

“ If pruning is needed to keep a plant in soma or to accommodate a quad , prune as you would rosiness , decently after blooming has ended .

“ Alternatively , you’re able to cut some smaller blossom ramification to fetch within , for a vase .

“ They might not last as long as roses , but you will still have a few days of joy , while still shaping the plant life as desired ” .

Maintenance pruning can be done any metre of the year , though the in effect time to do so is before long after the close of the flowering season .

The majority of camellia varieties are naturally well - form bush , so pruning for bod is not really necessary nor do I advise it .

However , to further an even Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( globular and ellipse are most mutual ) feel free to dress straggly branches that are jut out with a brace of secateurs .

Apart from that , cut off any diseased or dead branches at the peak of bond .

3) Hard Prune Dying Shrubs In March

I do not recommend that you heavy prune camelia without good reason .

Where camelia are touch on , hard pruning should only be necessary in rare case , such as when the bush has somehow become badly malformed and unsightly or is badly infested with gadfly or disease .

If you must do a gruelling prune , do so from mid - late February to early - mid March .

Using pruning shears , cut down the bush by up to two - tierce so that only one - third remain .

“ Pay attention to planting distance when selecting novel camellias , ” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .

“ There is always a temptation to plant too closely , which in clock time will mean that the plant compete and can cause misshapen growth as plants reach for the light .

“ If inherited , this can be managed by selectively removing branches to provide blank for each works or the plants can be snip hard back to begin from scratch .

“ This will look austere but can be the quickest mode to restore order . ”

Be sure to feed the bush after any voiceless prune .

Bear in creative thinker that after a heavy prune , the plant will likely take 2 - 3 years before it resumes right anthesis .