Camellia Trimming

Question

I had a camellia bush that was about 5 1/2 feet tall in my yard of a rental house that I own. The tenant cut it back to about 1 foot tall, with just a stub remaining. Has this killed my plant? I don’t know if it has bloomed or not for this season.

Answer 1

Generally, they cannot handle being pruned back more than a third of their height. However, it is still possible. Unfortunately, you will just have to wait it out, and if it survived, it should soon start showing signs of regrowth. For future reference on camellia pruning, this article should help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/camellia/pruning-camellias-how-to-prune-a-camellia-plant.htm