How to renovate a Camellia

Do you have an old mature flowering shrub or small tree that's in need of some serious TLC. With a camellia as the subject I show you how easy it is to bring yours back to tip-top shape.
If you want to see how it looked after the haircut you can see footage of it the next spring here • How to renovate a Came...
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[@annacottage4536]

Thank you so much, I am here in England and I could find no one online that would show me how to prune mine, now I know, am glad to have found you. Again many thanks.

[@paulholmes8211]

Same! Great video. 👍

[@MikeLuisCozinheiro75]

best video on youtube , i have the same problem and you are helping me so much ...thank you so much

[@dyarom4575]

Well done!

[@The129senior]

Very informative.

[@olgamarchenko6576]

GOOD!!

[@uzohf11]

great video! was wondering if you could give me some suggestion for my old camellia tree that i think is dying.

[@Sydneysider1310]

Loved this video Adam. Really helpful. But you promised we'd come back "next" spring and see how it went. THAT was 3 years ago! I have looked but I cannot find the follow-up. ;(

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi SydneySider1310. I made a re-edited version of the video, slightly shorter, and added footage of the camellia the next spring on the end. Check it out :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4fFmo1pqpqVga8

[@Sydneysider1310]

Adam Woodhams Thank you so much for the link. No idea how I missed it. The camellia looked lovely after all your TLC. I've done the same to mine, although a lot smaller, it had also been neglected but still managed to produce a few blooms so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it goes this spring. Thanks again.

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi Silvia, sorry for the delay... what sort of problems is it having?

[@9i46jake]

Hi great video but when is the best time to do this work Cheers I'm in the UK ...

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi +dave snoops the rough rule-of-thumb is after flowering and fear of frost. Cheers, Adam

[@ThePoehladian]

🌹💚🌹

[@ks6943]

Hi thank you for the very informative video. I am in Melbourne, where can I buy the soil activator? Is it good for any type of plant? Thanks

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi @K S. I don't know if you can get that product anymore. Ive been using a newer one that is quite good. I liked the results on my veggie garden this summer. www.bunnings.com.au/scotts-25l-performance-naturals-soil-improver_p0182066

[@MissAng3LwpY]

Hi, I have zero idea in gardening so thanks for your video. My garden was left by the previous owner so I'm kind of being "forced" to learn to maintain it. Quick question, I have been trimming my two camellia tree like hedge. Is that a bad thing? I notice the branches started getting thicker and it's getting harder to trim into a shape.

[@juliabatova6318]

Adam, it is Autumn now, we are in England and our camellias have been neglected. I wanted to feed them, but read that it needs to be done in the spring and strictly no later than July. Out of all the great things you’ve demonstrated, what can I do in the Autumn as part of reviving my camellias?

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi Julia, not too much to be honest. You can give them a very light feed & maybe apply some seaweed tonic but realistically they go all-but dormant over winter so not much will happen. I certainly wouldn't prune them as the may reshoot before winter and then that new growth will be too soft to survive the cold. I'd be waiting for late winter, until fear of frost is past, and be doing it then.

[@juliabatova6318]

Adam Woodhams thank you!

[@JohnnyNorfolk]

You can really hard prune if you need to. A camellia will out live the person that planted it. I would use pellited chicken manure and a thick mulch of peat.

[@jenniferjames8876]

My camelia has heaps of flowers but very spindly, It is rather dry and west of house so filtered sun, is well mulched and fertilised. Could it be lack of water?

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Likely yes @Jennifer. They are very hardy but lack of reliable water can leave them as you describe. Try spreading a soil wetter to help get more water into the soil.

[@jenniferjames8876]

@@AdamHWoodhams thanks Adam.

[@giteshpatel8120]

Hi. My camellia was a healthy 1 meter plant.My dog attacked it. The roots are still intact. How do I save my camellia. It has a branch but no leaves.

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi Gitesh. If the branch the dog chewed on is damaged I'd suggest you trim it off. The plant will reshoot. If you keep the dog away ;)

[@giteshpatel8120]

Adam Woodhams Thanks

[@ArcanePath360]

I cut mine right back one year and the rest of it died back now only one leaf grows back all year.

[@AdamHWoodhams]

Hi ArcanePath360, apologies for the delay. KZbin has been concealing comments & only just added a way for me to access them! Okay, that's pretty odd. What time of year did you cut it back? Really this needs to be done when growth is most active in spring ideally. I have seen very mature trees cut down to stumps and they still come back strongly.