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

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:44:21 +1000, "Geoff & Heather" <gphe [at] optusnet.com.au> 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?

I'm assuming the plant was planted 3 years ago and is not just 3 years old. It would have been 3-4
years old in a 200mm bucket when sold,

Wait until early July.

Apply Seasol 3 weeks before the move then again about 5 days before. Dig a big hole and try to get
as much or the roots as you can. Slip something like hessian or plastic under the rootball, lift it
out using the hessian or plastic to stop the rootball falling apart and replant into some good soil.
I like to use Camellia and Azalea potting mix, even though it is designed for potted plants. It is
great in the garden.

Apply Seasol again and all should be well.

In September give it a little cow manure and some blood and bone.

I think rainman's advice is pretty good but we tried to transplant about 5
camellias awhile ago.
Only 1 survived but it was never the same again...
Good luck
B

<rainman [at] mailinator.com> wrote in message
news:8ss142t2da6e8so3beur9l9sqdf8emivv5 [at] 4ax.com...
> On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:44:21 +1000, "Geoff & Heather"
> <gphe [at] optusnet.com.au> 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?
>
> I'm assuming the plant was planted 3 years ago and is not just 3 years
> old. It would have been 3-4
> years old in a 200mm bucket when sold,
>
> Wait until early July.
>
> Apply Seasol 3 weeks before the move then again about 5 days before. Dig
> a big hole and try to get
> as much or the roots as you can. Slip something like hessian or plastic
> under the rootball, lift it
> out using the hessian or plastic to stop the rootball falling apart and
> replant into some good soil.
> I like to use Camellia and Azalea potting mix, even though it is designed
> for potted plants. It is
> great in the garden.
>
> Apply Seasol again and all should be well.
>
> In September give it a little cow manure and some blood and bone.
>
>
>

Blaircam wrote:
> I think rainman's advice is pretty good but we tried to transplant about 5
> camellias awhile ago.
> Only 1 survived but it was never the same again...
> Good luck
> B
>
> <rainman [at] mailinator.com> wrote in message
> news:8ss142t2da6e8so3beur9l9sqdf8emivv5 [at] 4ax.com...
>
>> On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:44:21 +1000, "Geoff & Heather"
>> <gphe [at] optusnet.com.au> 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?
>>>
>> I'm assuming the plant was planted 3 years ago and is not just 3 years
>> old. It would have been 3-4
>> years old in a 200mm bucket when sold,
>>
>> Wait until early July.
>>
>> Apply Seasol 3 weeks before the move then again about 5 days before. Dig
>> a big hole and try to get
>> as much or the roots as you can. Slip something like hessian or plastic
>> under the rootball, lift it
>> out using the hessian or plastic to stop the rootball falling apart and
>> replant into some good soil.
>> I like to use Camellia and Azalea potting mix, even though it is designed
>> for potted plants. It is
>> great in the garden.
>>
>> Apply Seasol again and all should be well.
>>
>> In September give it a little cow manure and some blood and bone.
>>
>>
>>
>>
> To transplant camelias, keep the season in mind, think of where these came from (they like a shaded place with water running past them like a slope on side of hill) or at least have water regularly. Because of these conditions a south facing wall perhaps not under any eaves (theyve been designed to keep water of the walls and foundations of house)Take a complete rootball and try not to damage the roots. Also note the way the plant was facing the sun and keep it that way if possible. Under shade or full sun depending on the species....I even transplanted some daphnies this way. It worked fine. But a virus got it as it was about to bloom. That can happen anytime. Also make sure theyre healthy to start with as it may not be worth while starting with a sick plant, unless thats the reason to transplant it....Then you take your chances....
>
>

Thanks for the advice - we'll give it a go.

Geoff & Heather

"Geoff & Heather" <gphe [at] optusnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:4440a453$0$10674$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...
> 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
>

rainman [at] mailinator.com writes:
>On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:44:21 +1000, "Geoff & Heather" <gphe [at] optusnet.com.au> 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?

[Good advice snipped]

>Wait until early July.

If it was me I think I'd be inclined to snip off two thirds of its mature
leaves, one by one, so it loses a lot less moisture after the move. The
Aug/Sept winds can be very drying. I wouldn't touch the new leaves near
the tips of each branch though. I had good intentions of moving a 6' high
camellia once, but after nearly digging to China found its roots just went
on and on and the hole was becoming big enough for a swimming pool!
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

Thanks for the advice John - cutting the leave back usually pays dividends.
As you can see we are getting hesitant support for this move - not like a
similar request about lemon trees where the consensus was - go for it.

Geoff & Heather

"John Savage" <rookswood [at] suburbian.com.au> wrote in message
news:060430000033514.30Apr06$rookswood [at] suburbian.com...
> rainman [at] mailinator.com writes:
>>On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:44:21 +1000, "Geoff & Heather"
>><gphe [at] optusnet.com.au> 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?
>
> [Good advice snipped]
>
>>Wait until early July.
>
> If it was me I think I'd be inclined to snip off two thirds of its mature
> leaves, one by one, so it loses a lot less moisture after the move. The
> Aug/Sept winds can be very drying. I wouldn't touch the new leaves near
> the tips of each branch though. I had good intentions of moving a 6' high
> camellia once, but after nearly digging to China found its roots just went
> on and on and the hole was becoming big enough for a swimming pool!
> --
> John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)
>

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

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

A three year old plant can be a lot of different sizes depending on the
species and the gardener :-) But it makes no difference really, camelias
are easy to move Ive never had one die on me. starting at the base of
the plant remove any foliage you dont need. My prejudices are to
encourage camelias to be the smallish under story tree they want to be.
Note they flower in winter because that's when they get the sun as the
deciduous trees around them are nude.

Next dig a trench around the outside, first work your way around the
tree cutting a sharp circle with a spade, then dig the trench around
the outside of that. You'll have to judge how much rootball you'll be
able to move, don't be overly optimistic.

then work your way under the tree, but before you move it have the next
hole ready of course :-) And before you do any of the above, feed it up
well so that it has plenty of food to draw on when re-establishing
itself. a good reasonably strong soluble fertilizer is what you need.
Water in well but only once, you dont want to encourage rot, though
this is not likely.


Fortunately this is the perfect time to do the job, as the ground is
still warm and the weather not too hot.

Go Well godwin


--
godwin