On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:48:30 +0000, SarahH
wrote:

We have a lovely mature (10-15 years old) Camellia very close to the
boundary of our property near the house. Its around 10 foot tall now, Im
planning on pruning it back to 8ft after its flowered.

We are in a semi-detached house. The attached neighbours are planning a
single storey extension at the back. If the foundations go to the
boundary and cut off half the roots how likely is it that we will have
an ex-camellia? Is there anything we can do to save it?

My expectation is that it will be OK. I presume there'll be 12" or so
between the new wall and the actual boundary itself, to allow the
builders access for rendering, painting etc., unless they're going to
be stomping all over _your_ garden.

When moving a camellia, I always recommend root pruning several months
in advance of the actual move, to encourage the plant to make a
compact fibrous root ball. They come to no harm when this is done,
especially if the top is cut back to reduce transpiration. I would
leave your pruning until the building of the extension is imminent,
assuming it's going to be built sometime in the first few months of
next year and isn't in late autumn. If the latter, you may not even
need to prune at all. Be patient after you've done it though; they can
take several months before shoots appear, and next year's flowering
will be much reduced.

As for soil contamination by cement etc. camellias are more tolerant
of neutral soil than are some other ericaceous shrubs.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Thankyou all for your replies Sorry its taken me so long to say
thanks, life overtook me rather but you have given me hope!
Sarah