Pruning Flowering Trees & Shrubs

Camellia

• Scientific Name

  (Camellia japonica; C. sasanqua; C. sinensis)
• Image & Information

  

  Camellia x williamsii "Brigadoon'. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

  Special Considerations:

  Japonica buds set in later summer and bloom later from Winter to Spring.

  Sasanqua buds set in late summer and rest and open in the late fall to early winter.

  Sinensis buds set in the summer and bloom in the fall.

  The different blooming times for each variety of Camellia compel different pruning times. The general rule is to prune each plant after its blooms have faded but before July when bud set for the next year begins. As a result, the range of months listed in the next section (April – June) is not a pruning window for all Camellia varieties. It merely acknowledges the range of blooming schedules for different Camellia varieties and assumes that a gardener will “prune after the bloom” for each plant across that period.

  If the objective is to grow large blossoms, consider thinning the bud clusters. This will conserve plant energy for the development of fewer, but larger, flower buds.

• When to Prune

  Before July (e.g., April to June – because bud set begins in July)
• Flowers/Fruit on New or Old Wood

  Old Wood
• How & What to Prune

  Remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood.

  Use thinning and releadering cuts to remove or shorten crossing branches.

  Then, use thinning and releadering cuts to open the plant and to reduce its height and width, as necessary. This can help keep the lower branches of the plant alive.

  Camellia can be pruned heavily. However, if a gardener undertakes a major restructuring by removing 30-50% of the plant, be prepared for the possibility that the plant will shift from setting flower buds to growing vigorously. If this occurs, the next major blooming period may be during the second season after the restructuring. As an alternative to a single, major restructuring, consider taking two or three years to gradually reduce a plant to a more desirable size.

  Some professional pruners determine whether they have opened a camellia plant sufficiently by asking whether a small, skillful bird could fly through it.

  A gardener can rejuvenate older camellias over the course of three to five years by using thinning cuts to gradually remove older (thicker) trunks, which will promote new branch growth from the base of the plant.