Can I prune camellias to topiary globes like in Asian gardens?

15 years ago

The house I live in came with two large camellias on either side of the front door. I love to garden so I went to great lengths to find a place with a sunny yards which I could landscape my way. The landlady said I could do whatever I wanted with the garden, except that she doesn't want the camellias removed. I said, of course, and I meant it because I loved the camellias I had at another rental before. But these camellias have several problems.

They are both large trees and grow over walkways that are used alot every day. They are very ordinary and unexciting flowers, little pale pink rosettes of no particular interest. They start blooming in March and keep blooming for about 6 months! Their flowers turn mushy brown and either hang on or fall off littering the walkways with brown slime constantly and there are lots of flowers, and if you clean them up, there are more very soon. And they are pruned to different shapes! One is pruned to a big rectangle, and one to a half-round tree shape, above the trunks. and they are too tall, reaching over the rooftop, where they catch all day sun at the top and so the tops look yellow and burnt.

On the plus side, they have beautiful healthy glossy green leaves that provide nice all year green backdrop for my rose garden in the front yard. And I love my house and my landlady, so I am asking you how I can prune them because I certainly don't want to harm them.

I plan to prune them now, and prune away the buds, so that I won't have the flowers drop this year. They need to be pruned back quite a bit, not to half the height, but at least half the greenery trimmed away to achieve symmetry between the 2 bushes, and to be below the eaves, so the sun doesn't burn the tops. Finally, I really like the way that some bushes are pruned so that each branch has a globe of greenery at the end of it. I read that camellia can be used for topiary. Of course these are full-grown trees already; one is 12 ft tall and the other is 9 ft tall but it's in a brick planter so they come up to the same height.

If I cut the greenery back by two thirds, would that harm the bush? How far below the eaves must I prune it to keep it below the eves until the next pruning? (they are a foot or two above the eaves now, but they haven't been pruned for at least the last 2 years. Can I prune the camellias 2x a year to keep them the shape I want? I know that for an espalier it would be best to start with a young specimen, but can I prune to a somewhat flattened shape to keep from blocking the walkways, cutting off some limbs, etc?

I don't want any flowers, my roses provide the flower interest at that time of year. But I do want the bush to live and be healthy.

Thanks so much,and if you need any advice about roses, pop on over to the roses forum.

-Gala

Comments (2)

luis_pr
15 years ago
Can you find out what variety of camellia this is? Many camellias grow very, very slowly. Like about an inch a year. This would be useful when determining how far below the eves to prune.

I have not seen a camellia pruned to topiary globes form, probably because the leaves on stems always grow alternating and that makes it hard to created a globe, whose weight might cause the stem to bend (specially when it develops heavy flower buds/flowers).

But I will be interested to see if anyone has experimented with this. If you proceed with the plans, would you mind posting pictures (before/after)? I would love to see the change even if we have to wait one/two years for the end result.

Luis

PS - As someone who has rented many times in the past, I recommend that you consult with the owner when you finalize plans. While you are not removing the camellias, the change is major and she needs to understand your plans. Even the cutting them below the eves part. I have been through many but-you-said-it-was-ok conversations with owners before.
rozegardener
Original Author
15 years ago
Luis,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

Altho I don't know the name of the camellia, it is a very common type, that's been around a long time. A pale pink rosette, remeniscent of a mandala in petal placement, symmetrical, and fairly flat. It has no cluster of stamens or pistil showing, even when fully open. The tree grows fairly quickly, because it has grown from below the eaves to a foot at least, maybe two feet above the eves in the almost 2 years I've been here, and I haven't fed it, and it gets very little water except that which get gets from rain. I don't want them to get any bigger, they have already outgrown their spots!

I see your point tho, so if it grew 18 in two years, then if I prune it 9 inches to a foot below the eaves, that should keep it below the eaves for one year! Thanks, Luis! Or, If I were to be more conservative, prune to 4.5 or 6 inches below the eaves, and then, possibly again in 6 months.

Since I wrote the first post, earlier today, I found a link to the American Camellia Society, which encourages severe pruning, even of an old bush, saying it will in fact stimulate the bush. It also says that pruning before bloom and cutting away the flower buds, allows the bush to put more energy into other things than flowering, resulting in a healthier plant, more vigorous growth, and a better bloom cycle the following year. They define severe pruning as removing one third to one half of the existing plant, but say that pruning can be even more drastic than that, and suggest doing drastic pruning in February and sparing the plant the stress of blooming, if I understood it correctly. This article reassures me that it would be fine to prune my camellia bushes at this time. Would you mind taking a look at the article and tell me if you agree? It seems to say that I could safely prune away half of the bush, especially if before the bloom-time. Maybe if I prune it now, it would bloom in winter next year. I'd like that, because that's when the roses are dormant.

http://www.camellias-acs.org/display.aspx?catid=3,9,109&pageid=7

Yes, I'll be glad to post photos. and...don't worry about my trees, Luis. I make happy plants around me. Just be specific.

-Gala
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