Originally Posted by David E. Ross[_2_]

On 5/27/12 6:56 PM, BlackThumb wrote:
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;959804']On 5/26/12 3:18 PM, BlackThumb wrote:-
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote: -
;959742']On 5/26/12 6:34 AM, BlackThumb wrote:-
Hello. Sorry, to ask another question so soon!

I have a young camellia sinensis, which recently grew a new leaf and
has
some buds. I was wondering how to prune it to make grow bushier. I am
new to gardening, so this will be my first time pruning.

I have attached some pictures, incase they help. Sorry about the poor
quality!
-

Camellias should be pruned shortly after flowering. Although
evergreen,
camellias do go dormant in that they stop growing in the fall and
winter; but that is when they flower (C. sinensis in the fall).

To make a camellia more bushy, cut a stem just below the scar for the
past year's growth. That is, early in 2012, you remove the growth
from
2011, cutting just below the joint between 2011 and 2010. If you
merely
head the latest growth, you will normally get only one new shoot. If
you remove the entire latest growth, several buds from the prior year
should all send out shoots.

Feed LIGHTLY after pruning. Camellias do best with a relatively lean
soil. They also want an acidic soil that is always moist but never
wet;
thus, they require perfect drainage.
-

Thank you very much. I'm not quite sure what you mean by the 'scar of
the past year's growth' though. Also, i haven't had the plant for a
year, so am not sure how old each stem is. All Ive seen it do is grow
bud into a leaf.

-

Let it grow without pruning for a year. Next year, you will see a
sightly thick spot on the stem between this year's growth and the
growth
that existed when you bought the plant. The thick spot might be as
long
as 1/8 inch or less and have very small rings and grooves. That is the
scar. When pruning next year, you remove this year's growth including
that scar.

NOTE WELL: Camellias do not need to be pruned every year. They don't
need to be pruned at all except to remove dead or broken growth. I
only
prune mine when they begin to grow above my dining room window sill.


Thank you, David. That was a good explanation. I wanted to start pruning
to make it bushier for producing more tea leaves. I'm assuming what you
said would do this?

Yes. Although grown for its leaves (the source of tea), C. sinensis
should still flower. Pruning is then timed according to when flowering
is done.

Other than the removal of dead and broken growth, pruning is done only
to make the plant more bushy. It will thrive and flower -- or, in your
case, produce new leaves -- without pruning. However, it will become
lanky and not bushy. Bushiness requires pruning to force multiple
shoots. Heading last year's growth will only force a single shoot.
Multiple shoots are forced when last year's growth is removed entirely.
This will not work repeatedly for annual pruning because the new shoots
are then from two-year-old wood. You must allow the multiple shoots to
grow for at least two years before pruning again.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
My Climate
Gardening diary at David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current