January/February 2013 Issue - Filoli

CAMELLIA RENOVATION
AT FILOLI
by
Paul Cady
The camellia collection at Filoli is an extensive
and historic part of the garden. Of the more than
100 species of camel lia worldwide, Filoli has
nine species and hybrids; our largest collections
are of Camellia japonica, C. sasanqua, and C.
reticulata, with C. japonica cultivars being the
best represented. Most of the camellias at Filoli
were planted by Mrs. Roth when she was in
residence from the 1930s to the 1970s, mainly in
the walled and woodland gardens. Camellias can
also be found around the house, Garden Shop, and
near the balustrades along the lawns. Camellias
are in bloom from late October to May.
Camellias at Filoli are pruned extensively every
year to encourage flowering, remove dead wood,
and maintain their size and shape. The goal of
our pruning is to create a small tree or shrub with
a uniform branch structure supporting a dense
canopy, which will produce a wall of flowers when
in bloom. Most of our camellias are shaped into
specific forms, while others in less formal areas
are allowed to expand and grow to their full sizes.
This latter tactic was employed for many years
in the walled and woodland gardens, resulting in
large mature plants. Unfortunately, the eventual
A JOURNAL FROM THE
GARDEN AT FILOLI
size of the camellias was not taken into account at
planting. The result was overcrowding and a tall,
arching canopy with few lower branches and large
dimensions out of scale with the surrounding
garden. Because camellias flower on previous
year’s growth, most of the growth was at the top
and the majority of the flowers were high off the
ground where no one could see them.
Due to overcrowding, inaccessibility of flowers,
and general scale issues, the decision was made
in 2008 to renovate the Camellia japonica and
C. sasanqua shrubs in the walled and woodland
gardens. Renovation is an accepted horticultural
practice for reducing the size of camellias. Once a
hard cut (renovation) is made, the dormant buds in
the trunks have the ability to sprout and grow into
new branches. At Filoli we do not renovate C.
reticulata as we have found they do not respond
as well, if at all, to hard renovation pruning.
Before considering renovation, you should realize
that pruning begets more pruning; once you
begin pruning, the plant will have to be pruned
every year to retrain and maintain the shape and
size. Depending on the eventual size, the time
commitment for pruning can be sizeable. If
not properly trained after the initial renovation,
the plant will produce copious amounts of
weak, spindly growth, which is not conducive
to creating an attractive, well maintained shrub
and will probably leave you with a less desirable
specimen. At Filoli we have committed ourselves
to the necessary extra pruning time.
Starting in 2008, and continuing to the present,
the horticultural staff has been systematically
renovating the overgrown specimens. In general,
most plants have been brought down to a height
between 6 and 10 feet, though some plants in
the centers of beds have been left taller. All the
sawing work was done with hand saws, rather
than chain saws, to ensure clean, precise cuts.
Plants were renovated into loose pyramidal
shapes, with the top of the pyramid being as close
to the middle of the plant as possible (see upper
left photo, page 2). A strong horizontal branching
pattern is ideal, and this was taken into account
when pruning decisions were made. Sides were
cut hard to maintain the structure of the pyramid,
while leaving room for new growth to fill in and
create the desired horizontal branching effect.
Some vertical side growth was removed even if
it created holes in the shrub, because removing
vertical growth encourages bud sprouting from
the inside of the plant, creating a better horizontal
structure.
Ideally, all renovation would be done in late
winter in order to give the most time for new
NUMBER 60 PAGE 1 © WINTER 2013 FILOLI