Spring is the perfect time to encourage camellias to bloom bigger and better next year with a few simple tasks
Spring is the perfect time to encourage camellias to bloom bigger and better next year with a few simple tasks(Image: Getty Images)
Gardeners will be eagerly waiting for their garden displays to come into full bloom, especially with the changing seasons. You may feel like sitting back and relaxing, but a gardening expert pointed out that there’s more to be done, especially if you want a gorgeous garden display next year.
That doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels with your other plants and flowers, especially if you have camellias growing in your garden. In fact, gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish said spring is the best time to start carrying out maintenance jobs on this particular flower.
Ish said: “When your camellia stops flowering, it becomes the most crucial time to do any maintenance jobs. This doesn’t want any cutting or pruning at the end of the summer or wintertime like most of your other plants, because throughout the course of the year what this is actually doing is developing new buds ready for next year’s flowers.
When the plants become clearer, trim back any overlapping stems that are rubbing together(Image: Getty Images)
“So if you chop this all back at the end of summer, chances are you’re going to ruin the display next year, and no one wants that.”
To avoid any mishaps with next year’s flowers, Ish explained that gardeners won’t need to worry about deadheading the plants. Instead, the flowers will drop off naturally.
Wait until the stems are a little less full, pruning away any overlapping stems that are rubbing together. Stems rubbing together can release bark into the area, increasing the chances of developing disease and infections that could ruin the display.
Camellias typically bloom between October and April, so they are coming to the end of their current blooming cycle. A main concern for gardeners when growing camellias is the acidity level in the soil, so you want to keep that in mind when feeding and mulching the plants.
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Camellias will thrive in an acidic soil. By planting the flowers in alkaline soil, they’ll grow loads of leaves instead of flowers.
To fix this issue, Ish suggested using an ericaceous compost or another item that will increase the acidity level in the soil. According to Gardeners’ World, you want to make sure the soil has a pH level of six to 6.5 when planting and growing camellias.
Ish recommended pine bark chips on the top of the soil, or an extra layer of ericaceous multipurpose compost. The gardening expert also advised to keep the plant well-watered.
He said: “A lot of people think because it’s done it doesn’t need a good watering. Keep it well-watered like you would the rest of your plants, and next year, you should end up with an even more gorgeous display than you did this year.
“Not too difficult, ey?”
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