Cutting camellias: Instructions & tips from the experts

It can be very useful to prune a camellia to maintain its growth habit. We will show you everything you need to know about the ideal cut for your camellia.

The camellia (Camellia) is a very slow growing plant. Therefore, the question arises for many gardeners: should I prune my camellia at all? As is so often the case, the correct answer to this question comes down to the reason for the cut. We explain when and for what reason you should prune your camellia and how best to do it.

Pruning camellia: when is the best time?

The best time to prune camellias is from May to July. Here the plants are about to reach their peak growth phase and the flowering period is over. In general, flowers that have withered can be cut out even during flowering.

Prune camellia after flowering

Immediately after flowering, it makes sense to remove the withered flowers that are usually still attached. By cutting the flower, your camellia will be directly stimulated to form new buds again. The pruning also encourages branching, so you can hope for a more lush crown.

Pruning camellia: instructions from the experts

When pruning camellias, a distinction must be made between several types of pruning. Depending on the occasion, the procedure also changes slightly. However, the following applies to all cuts: less is more. We give a short description of each cut and explain how to proceed.

Pruning of camellias

Maintenance pruning is primarily used for diseased camellia specimens in order to free them from their diseased or already dead plant parts. However, you should be careful and only remove infected parts of the plant. Maintenance pruning also includes thinning the crown of older plants. This means removing leafless and weaker shoots inside the crown. This supports the compression of the crown and channels the energy into young shoots.

Training pruning in camellias

In contrast to the maintenance cut, the educational cut is more of a cosmetic measure. Here, too, lush shoots must first be available so that a moderate cut can be carried out at all. When pruning for training, only isolated shoot tips are removed that protrude from the overall picture of the plant. The camellia is often trimmed into a slight V-shape so that it tapers towards the base of the stem. Excessive topiary is hardly possible due to the slow growth and the airy crown trimming.

Camellias: how exactly to cut?

The camellia has a naturally very clear growth habit, which is why pruning is not particularly complicated. A cut can be made at almost every node along the shoot because the camellia will sprout again there. However, care must be taken to ensure that your camellia does not lose too much biomass at once, as it is not growing enough to be able to compensate quickly. Whatever the occasion, always use sharp pruning shears to avoid bruising.

Notice: Lots camellia varieties have a leaf-free area at the base of the stem. Never cut the camellia too close to this area, as your darling could not recover from it and no longer develop new shoots.

More tips on the ideal Caring for your camellia you'll find here.