So now for my big question. There's this gorgeous old camellia that's sort of the focal point of part of the garden; it's been there as long as I can remember, at least 30 years. But now there's a second, much younger camellia coming up next to it, about 4 feet away. It wasn't there the last time I was here, about 6 years ago, so it's definitely a new development. It's got about 4 "trunks"/main stems (don't know what the right word is) that are maybe 1-2" thick, whereas the stems on the original camellia are more like 4" thick. The new volunteer is as tall as the older camellia, just much skinnier, much lighter green, and not filled out at all.

Now, this is definitely a sentimental-value restoration project, and this second "offshoot" camellia totally destroys the original appearance/line of this area of the garden. My mom really wants to have it removed, which I will happily do-- but I'm afraid of hurting the original, older camellia.

What's going on here? Do camellias produce runners or suckers or something, is that what this new smaller one is? Is it connected underground to the original camellia? Will it hurt, or kill, the older plant if we remove the younger one? Should we try to dig it up and transplant it elsewhere, or is it safer just to cut it off at ground level (apologies if this is a horrifying thing to say! :) I'd really appreciate any opinions or advice-- I'm terrified to mess with it blindly, for fear of injuring the older tree.

Thanks in advance for any help!