AusBonsai

I have a Camellia that has been growing under some trees in the backyard. It is about 1200 high but very spindly and only had one flower with no sign of any more.

As I'm not yet plant wise, can I dig it up now to pot it (not bonsai yet), and how hard should i cut it back?

I have a photo, but I'm having trouble resizing it to upload. Anyone handy with Macs that could assist?

Thanks

wiki does
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... lay_online

I you can dig Camelia after flowering ( or before if you remove them all).
They will backbud on bare wood, so you can cut back hard when you collect.

Ken

Thanks Ken,

I thought I would be ok to transplant to pot now, just wasn't sure how hard to cut it back.

Cheers

You mentioned that the growth is very spindly. This may indicate that the tree is not very healthy in which case you may want to give it a good feed (or two) and leave until next spring so that it can strengthen before cutting back hard.

Point taken Edward,

Thanks to Ken, I can now post some photos for you. Would welcome feedback for future bonsai.

There is a LOT of leaf litter around the plant and I won't really know what the actual base will look like until its out. Hopefully sometime this week depending on the weather.

Cheers

Cool see what you find when you dig it up abut the lower trunk looks like a nice size.
As Camelias have large flowers (mostly) they suit a larger tree so cut the tunk back to no less than 3-400 mm so you get lots to work with when you come to designing the tree

Ken

Ok, so I bit the bullet yesterday afternoon and transplanted the camellia into a 290mm pot and placed it back under the same tree to recover. I did trim the roots some as there were some largish ones growing downwards and i had to trim around so that the rootball would fit in the pot. I then gave the plant a bit of a hair cut. Please let me know if you think it needs to be cut back further. I used specific camellia potting mix in the pot too.

Here are a few photos.

Cheers

Just bumping this back up. I'd really appreciate some advice on the next step.

Should I cut back further and if so how far, or just leave it as is till next spring?

Thanks in advance.

I would cut back the long and lanky growth.
Maybe to about the lenght of the bend in the right branch
Ler it then recover

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I agree with Ken, I would cut back the longer growth. Water with seasol util new growth starts to bud then liquid Power feed and a few pallets on top of pot.
Cheers
Kirky

Thanks for the advice. I did sprinkle it with Osmocote and I'll trim it back further today as advised.

Kirky, when you say Power feed, what exactly do you suggest, remember, complete novice here.

Thanks again.

Sorry fruitfly. Power feed is a brand name liquid fertilizer. Like Charlie Carp/Thrive etc... Gives plants a quick feed. I don't ever fertilize plants at the same time as digging them up/repotting etc... New roots can quickly be burnt by fertilizer. So I use Seasol which is just a tonic to help plants with the stress of root removal/repotting. Then once they start to show growth I liquid feed which is the Power feed. This gives them a quick feed that they can absorb quickly. And then I fertilize on top of the soil. It takes top fertilizers a few weeks to break down before they actually start to work. The osmocote you have put on will be fine it relies on heat/warm weather to break down. So I wouldn't worry about it damaging roots.
Hope this explains it better.
Cheers
Kirky

Great thanks Kirky,

Good to know I'm on the right path.

Cheers

I use seasol for about 4-6 weeks after repotting

Ken

Copy that Ken.