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Got a camellia with new house - help!
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Posted by MollyinVA 7bVA (My Page) on Sun, May 15, 05 at 15:33
The only landscaping my "new-to-me" house had when I moved in was two privet bushes on either side of the front door and a big camellia against the back of the house. All three bushes were "sculpted" into squares - the privets more recently, as they are still square-shaped. The camellia has shot new growth and softened up its angles. When I looked at the house back in March before buying, I noticed a couple of beautiful red blooms on the camellia and loads of buds, but they seem to have been nipped by frost, as most are still on the bush and all brown.
Three questions:
1. Should I pick or cut the brown buds off the bush?
2. I thought camellias were shade-loving plants...this bush gets morning shade - but the back of the house faces due west, so it gets hot sun from about 1 pm on... will this hurt it?
3. Any advice on pruning this bush? It's about 8 feet high, 4 feet wide and somewhat angular. I'd like to restore it to a more natural shape, not the square-ish shape the previous owner tried to force on it.
Thanks in advance!
Molly
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Got a camellia with new house - help!
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| The dead buds should eventually drop off. They can grow in more sun (as my sister discovered - hers is south-facing and its "shade" - some 25ft tall hollies - were removed a couple years ago and it is doing okay). But you just have to make sure that it gets sufficient water and be prepared for occassional sun burn on the leaves depending on the weather. Since yours was apparently sheared or otherwise shaped, just let it grow out of it. It may take some time since they are slow growers, but eventually it'll get there. If you prune, take the stem all the way back to a main branch rather than heading it part way. |
RE: Got a camellia with new house - help!
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Thanks, Jenny -
I've heard you should prune in the center of these bushes so they get good air circulation in our hot, humid climate. This bush is really dense. Do you think I should thin it out a little?
Molly |
RE: Got a camellia with new house - help!
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| I know that people recommend thinning a number of shrubs. However the Camellia seems to be at it's best when it is moderately thick and loaded with blooms. If you have alot of dead and broken branches inside, then by all means, remove those. But I guess maybe it's more personal taste whether you want it to be more sprawly and open (there are cultivars that are naturally like that) or more dense. You have to step back and really take a look at it and then decide how you want it to look. Maybe check out some websites of mature ones and see if there's a look that is appealing. |
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