Geoff & Heather wrote:
Has anyone had any success transplanting camellias ?
We are in the Hunter valley and have a three year old
plant we want to move - any suggestions?
Geoff & Heather

I moved 4 camelia's when I moved into my current house. They seemed to
have bounced back OK. 2 were about 1 1/2 m H x 1 m W. The other 2 were
not much bigger than what you'd find at a nursery (poor position).

In mid-autumn I gave the plant some fish emulsion. A week later I
pruned the plant back by about a 1/4 cutting off any flower buds. (You
want the plant to conserve energy and you won't remember this year's
bloom in a few years time anyway.) At the same time I used a spade to
cut a circle around the new drip line to cut the existing roots and
encourage a more compact root ball. I was essentially precutting the
rootball so that the plant has a few months to adjust to a smaller root
system before tearing it out completely. How big you make the circle
depends on the size of the plant. Bigger is better but remember you
have to lift it without damaging it. Before I cut around the dripline,
I sprayed the plant with anti-transpirant (eg Envy) and I gave the
plant some more fish emulsion after I cut the roots.

I moved the plant In late winter, after the flowering season and when
the new shoots are starting to grow. During the wait I prepared the
soil in the new bed. I tried to avoid watering outside of the spaded
circle (you can't do much about rain) and hand watered within the
circle to encourage new roots inside dripline. A few weeks before
transplanting I prep'ed plant with fish emulsion. Before transplanting
I trimmed the plant back a bit more and sprayed with antitranspirant. I
used the circle I cut in autumn as a guide for cutting the rootball.
After the move (do it quickly), I gave it a few applications fish
emulsion over the next few months and kept the water up to it over the
following summer. Adding antitranspirant if dry winds or hot days are
expected while the plant is establishing probably isn't a bad idea. I
held off fertilising for a few months until the plant had settled in. I
didn't let the plants flower the following season.

That was about 5 years ago. The plants sulked a little for the first
year but within a few years were growing strongly. The transplant
preparation may have been overkill but the plants moved and lived so in
hindsight i was happy to put in the extra effort.

Andrew
Melbourne, Victoria