Camellias are one of the most striking flowering plants. Thanks to their large flowers, with very bright colors, they make them stand out in any garden. In addition, they are capable of living for many years if the necessary care is provided, including pruning. But, Do you know when camellias are pruned?
If you want to know the types of pruning that exist for camellias, when to do them and how to get the most out of your plant, here are the keys.
Why are camellias pruned?
If you have ever seen a camellia you will know that they are beautiful shrubs. Not only that, but also its flowering is one of the most beautiful. And to think of cutting branches, or even flowers, is something unthinkable.
But the truth is that a pruning has many reasons for being. With it you can get:
- Let the camellia have a more showy formation.
- That there are more flowers and that these are of better quality.
- Better plant growth.
- More breath from her, which heals the camellia.
- Diseases do not appear.
All these are just some of the advantages of pruning camellias, and reasons why you should not neglect it. It’s okay that the first year you have it you don’t do it, because it is a way for him to adapt to his new home, but it is convenient that you do it from the second year.
When are camellias pruned?
The first thing we are going to answer you is when the camellias are pruned. This is easy since The best time to do it is in winter. Not in the harshest winter, but at the end of it, when spring appears and frosts are not possible. In this way you will be able to enhance its flowering.
Now, as we will see a little later, you should know that there are several types of pruning, which means that depending on where you live and the type of cut you are going to give it, you have to choose one time or another. We explain it to you below.
Types of pruning
As you know, in most plants, trees and shrubs there are different types of pruning that make the plant change. But each of them has a usual time to perform. Thus, we have:
Cleaning pruning
In this case, what is sought is the camellia is as healthy as possible and that it improves flowering.
What is done? You have to cut the branches that are completely dry, those that are sick and cannot recover, the crossed ones or those that are bad. And also suckers and sprouts that come out of the soil itself.
When is made? One has to take advantage of the winter to carry it out, but always avoiding frost.
Formation pruning
This is characterized by being a more common cut for shape the camellia. To do this, you have to choose a shape (in a fan, accordion, round…) and sprout those shoots that are out of that silhouette that we want to achieve.
When is made? Throughout the year. As the camellia is a plant that grows well, you will have to watch that it does not lose its shape during the year. So you will have to cut it often.
Flowering pruning
Also called flower thinning, it is a pruning technique to enhance flowering. It consists of cutting the smallest flower buds, always prioritizing the size of the flowers over their quantity.
This is carried out at the moment when the buds begin to form, but if it is already in full bloom, you should not touch it. That does not mean that later you can remove the new cocoons that it can create.
How to prune camellias step by step
Let’s go to the practical part, that is, to learn how camellias are pruned. To do this, there are several steps you must take. These are:
Have the tools at hand
It is not that you will need many, but you should have some gloves and pruning shears.
The latter must be disinfected before starting to cut the branches or flowers to prevent it from getting infected from another plant that could be sick.
So our recommendation is that you use alcohol or similar to disinfect them before cutting and also afterwards, when you have finished.
Prune camellias according to cleaning pruning
If what you are going to do is a cleaning pruning, you have to make sure that what are the branches that you are going to have to cut.
To begin with, we recommend doing it with the pacifiers. Delete them as far down as you can. Also the shoots that come out of the ground.
Next it’s time for the branches. Start with the ones you see dry or diseased. Once you eliminate them, you have to continue with those that are crossed or that have a slightly straight shape. In this way you not only clean, but also oxygenate and give space to the plant.
Prune camellias in formation
In case you want to prune in formation, you have to be clear about the design that you are going to give it. For example, if you want it to look like a ball you will have to remove all the shoots that come out of that formation.
We also recommend trim the shoots as this will achieve a greater density of the camellia and it will look much better. Also, believe it or not, that will cause new shoots to be generated.
Prune for more flowering
In the case of flower thinning, the most important thing is, when it is setting its buds, leave only one or two on each branch. In this way, it will have more strength to pull them forward and will produce larger flowers.
Yes, there is some specimens of camellias that do their own thinning, that is to say, that they themselves pull the buds before flowering to leave only those that are capable of pulling forward. If your plant is like this, you can avoid this type of pruning since if you also do it you can end up running out of flowers.
In general, we can tell you that camellias are very resistant to pruning, and that if you carry out the recommendations you will not have any problems with it. Even so, if you have doubts about when camellias are pruned or in general with their care, you can always contact us and we will try to answer you as soon as possible.
