As described, it certainly sounds rather awful, but if the camellia could be forced into such an embarrassing shape so successfully, that should be your clue that camellias are easy to prune into any shape you like. Camellias grow pretty slowly, so de-lollipoppification will take a bit of time, but it is definitely possible.

You can take a drastic approach and chop it way back, then wait for it to re-grow, and prune for shape as it does.

A less drastic (and hopefully less unattractive) approach would involve thinning out the ball of branches at the top of the plant to encourage a more natural tree-like shape. Your camellia will respond to pruning with new growth, and once you see how it responds to a light thinning/topping, you can get an idea of how to continue pruning along and along for the shape you prefer.

An in-between approach that starts with more aggressive thinning and shortening of the shrub may be a good approach also.

If you'd like branching to start lower down than the 3-4', you will want to reduce the total height of the plant by at least 2' to encourage branching lower down on the main trunk. You may need to reduce the height anyway if it's growing too tall for its space? Hard to envision without a photo...

Go online and look at camellias growing in the shape you like, and use that look as your mental template for gradually thinning and pruning your lollipop into an attractive camellia tree.

You didn't mention where your camellia is, but you don't want to cut anything back until your area is warm enough that the new growth encouraged by pruning won't get zapped by freezing temps.

Keep in mind that if you prune after the buds 'set' in spring/early summer you will reduce your bloomage the next year. If you decide, however, that you want to sacrifice next year's flowers in order to work on the plant's shape throughout the year, that's a perfectly legitimate approach.

Good luck,

Virginia

Thank you. I started thinning/opening up another large camellia on the property, with beautiful old multiple trunks, and it's going so well I have more confidence to try it with the lollipop abomination. I'm thinking I could reduce the crowding against the porch by limbing up branches and gradually pruning & guiding the growth away from the house and upward. It will probably look funny for a couple years but the worst that could happen is that I eventually decide to take it down entirely!

It's in full bloom right now, but that's hardly a virtue seeing as the poor blooms are pressed against each other and crowded. So if I were to begin pruning now, would I get flowers next year? It's not a major consideration, it would just be nice if I did.

There are never any guarantees with camellias- or gardening, for that matter- but you shouldn't lose next year's blooms if you start pruning now. The only concern I'd have with pruning now would be if you have any likelihood of freezing weather zapping your new growth. If you're in a winter-free area, you should be fine.

It sounds like you already have a good idea of what needs to be done, and I agree that it will probably take a few years before it starts to really look good. Hopefully, it won't look too awkward in the meantime, and you are doing the plant a big favor by thinning out those crowded branches, and letting some air and light in. It won't just be prettier, it should also be healthier in the long run. Do you know what variety your camellia is?

Virginia

I don't know much about camellias; both my big ones are the common double red-pink my grandma had and I see all over town here (near Seattle). There's a smaller one with flowers the same color, but they look like a semi-double hibiscus with bright yellow stamens.

Well, the names don't really matter... Most likely it's a japonica if it's an old variety and blooming now. Camellias may differ in terms of when they bloom, and how well they tolerate cold or what-have-you, but in terms of shaping them up, most camellias respond well to pruning, and grow slowly when compared to many other kinds of shrubs.

Aha, I found a photo! I think it will not be hard to see which camellia is the lollipop. And somehow I was wrong, it does have multiple trunks.

(Isn't that big sword fern in an awkward place too? On the same side of the house are a pieris, a sad rhodie previously chopped into a rectangle, and a cotoneaster that has fallen over and was subsequently sculpted into a meatball. Sigh.)

It isn't quite as bad as I'd imagined, but I agree that it will all look better if allowed to grow more naturally.

A multi-trunked camellia will make a better tree, but I can't tell from the photo how many trunks it has. As a general rule, you don't want more than a few to keep the interior from being too crowded (limits air circulation and light, can promote fungal problems), so if you have more than that, you can start your thinning project by removing extra trunks, and this should ease crowding up in the lollipop.

It's odd that the pruning practices of the former owner leaned towards the topiary look, but there's no symmetry with the evergreen shrub placements; the landscape seems lop-sided with the lollipops. Is there space on the other side of the house for a sasanqua or japonica camellia, or some other evergreen shrub? Maybe a native evergreen? Or a Banana Shrub (Michelia figo)?

The fern seems trapped over on the evergreen-heavy side- and lonely with no other frondy friends nearby... if the fern looks as good up close, I'd think a few more would look nice.

I love the house, BTW!

Virginia

Thank you, we love it too :)

Most of the symmetry problem is that the shrubs on the other side of the porch are all deciduous. I think they were put in by a different gardener (maybe in a different generation) from the evergreens. Out of frame to the right is a good-sized shade and shrub garden that was originally well planned, although it's been neglected. There's an absolutely gorgeous Japanese maple and some beautiful tree-form rhodies. I don't know what was on the left (south) side at the time the shrubs were being planted but maybe it was later removed for the mostly-insipid stuff that's there now. I've been pondering evergreen shrubs but probably not as big as camellia ... I've also been thinking of an evergreen clematis up the bare-ish side of the porch, for summer shade, and maybe that would help balance things out visually. Also, the cotoneaster is getting cut way back or coming out.

Yes, I think some sort of evergreenery on the other side of the house would be nice for balance. There are some more compact camellias such as 'ShiShi Gashira', but something else would work.

The Japanese Maple and tree-rhodies sound gorgeous, so it sounds like a lot of the landscaping is worth keeping more or less 'as is'. Just let the overly sculpted shrubs grow out a bit, and gradually replace the insipid stuff with some that you really like, and all should be looking good within a few years.

Good luck,

Virginia

I think the house itself is charming, inviting and unpretentious, but because of its symmetry, it needs balance. Formal pruning has its place, and looks great in some contexts, but is way overused/abused in situations where something more naturalistic/lush would be far more gorgeous. I would love to be able to fast-forward that photo to see all the cool juxtapositions of plants you'll end up with to provide the balance without the lollipop pretentiousness.

I love native plants also, so I hope you'll be able to work some into your plant mix. I was surprised there aren't move native evergreen shrubs for the PNW, but I'd love to be able to grow Vaccinium ovatum here. The blueberries I grow are all deciduous... I'd love to see less lawn in that fast-forwarded photo also, but that does take some time if it's DIY landscaping.

That old camellia could be moved to provide structure elsewhere in the yard, and if you love the japonisme look, you might even move the camellia closer to the Japanese Maple, and consider a cloud-pruned shrub or two in the mix. Shape-pruning doesn't have to be formal. And/or a smaller Japanese Maple in a contrasting color?

Camellia roots tend to be fairly shallow, so unless the plant is jammed right up against the porch, it's not likely to be a threat to the house, nor likely to be damaged by the house. The shape of the plant is- IMO- a greater threat to the plant's health since the lack of light and air is likely to promote disease.

If you do think it's too close, I hope you'll consider moving it. Once you go to the trouble of having it properly removed, it's not much more work to dig a hole elsewhere that will fill in an empty space in the yard, and that camellia will really look great with some thinning and a little time to grow back out in a more natural way.

Good luck with whatever you do... I'm sure it will look so much better after a few years of judicious planting decisions.

Virginia

Camellia's are very responsive to pruning and you can prune then down to one note or branch junction and they would still grow from there with a new main growing branch. sure it would look funny for a while and you might shock it into no having a bloom for a year or two but in the end you can get it pruned down to a shrub or bush shape suitable for the area. TheItalian Garden