Camellia japonica

They are probably gorgeous when blooming, if you don't prune at the
wrong time and take all the future blooms off. I've seen some gorgeous
Camellia's espaliered against brick walls...not sure if you can do that
starting with mature plants, but it definitely tames them.

imo.. nothing should be planted that close to the brick wall ... and i would remove it for that.. because i dont even think you could dig a big enough ball of soil ... to move it without killing it ...

even if you wanted to Espalier it on that wall... its still not properly planted ...

just get rid of it.. dig a proper depth bed away from the wall .. and plant some new plants a couple feet min.. from the wall .. even if you go buy the same type plant ...

now.. that said.. if you want a full time job playing with it.. and will enjoy the experience.. learn how to prune.. and experiment on it ... and if you screw it all up.. all the better.. because then you can get rid of it ...

ken

too bad oly's pic dont expand.. and we could see if those plants were planted a few inches from the wall ...

ken

It doesn’t really matter if they are. They won’t hurt the wall. As olychick’s pix show Camellias can be grown very close to a wall and make good espaliers. It would be a crime to move a big Camellia like that imo. I’ve seen hundred year old Camellias grown against even older walls without harm.

Even though it has been done by others I've never been able to transplant an established camellia without killing it - their roots are like rubber coated wire, with insufficiently frequent forking to result in a small dense ball lending itself to being dug and moved. With the fact that most stock of camellias sold has been grown in containers being a hint.

All that needs to happen here is for the camellia shown to be pruned back into the size and shape that would have been originally intended.

Thanks, all, for the information. This has been invaluable and has led to a lot of other research on my part. While many other pages that discuss the camellia mention trimming and pruning, what I haven't found is how berserk I can get with the pruning without killing it.

For instance - can I chop it down to 1 foot tall, and "start over" next spring? I don't mind it looking dead or extremely barren for the winter, just don't know what might kill it versus a "start over". The problem with it the way it is, is that it is too big for the space it's planted. It's up against that wall, which is adjacent to a concrete patio pad, and the shape of the plant is just too overbearing on the space, and makes it feel crowded. Need to rein that in.

Appreciate your continued insight!

Thoughts? :)

Camellias are like yews in that they can be cut down to near the ground and will grow back. Albeit slowly, in both instances.

The constantly picked at tea plants of commercial plantations are also a species of camellia - that is how tolerant camellias are of pruning. Of course, camellias used for decorative effects cannot be cut back with a frequency that interferes with flower bud set or this feature will not be seen.

Wait until after they bloom to chop them back. It might affect how you feel about them going down to nothing, vs some judicious pruning.