Tree maintenance work for camellia sasanqua

Camellia sasanqua is a tree which blooms from the end of fall to the end of winter. It became popular in the Edo period of Japan; people planted them in gardens to enjoy their huge flowers. The shape of the tree and its flowers are quite similar to Camellia, but there are two ways to recognize their difference. First, the size of Camellia sasanqua leaves is smaller than Camellia. Second, while the flower petals of Camellia sasanqua fall one by one, the Camellia flower will fall off intact.

This tree used to be planted in a pot but became too large.  When I looked for the pot, I couldn’t find it. It looks like the tree became so large that ended up completely covering the pot and growing into the soil surrounding it. This tree had never been trimmed in the past, so it looked wild. The condition of the tree made it vulnerable to pests and viruses. I decided to take care of this tree to make it beautiful and healthy for the future.

Camellia asanqua・Before

Generally, Camellia sasanqua is trimmed after it finishes flowering. The way to trim this tree is not so different from the other evergreen trees. While cutting the branches that were growing in the wrong direction, I corrected the shape of the tree. Although cutting branches from the inside is the way to make a healthy tree shape, which branch you should leave is also an important factor. In the case of this tree, it had some branches which grew in an inappropriate direction. Even so, because these branches are playing an important role in making good shape, I decided not to cut them. (I will replace them in the future when more healthy branches grow from the inside)

Camellia sasanqua・After

It could be cut smaller, but I decided to only cut it down one size, so as not to damage flowers that will bloom next season. After the next set of flowers, it can be cut again since the Camellia sasanqua is a strong species of tree.