Need some honest advice about a 30+ year old Camellia

Kathy Shaner advised me to trim new shoots back regularly to improve density. I've noticed they're lazy, and tend to put energy into a just few shoots, until I started trimming them back regularly...like 5 nodes back to 1-2, and finally after 3-4 years, the one I have left is starting to act like it wants to become a bonsai.

There are at least 10 new shoots starting. I'm going to try to collect it probably in December, I want to give the shoots as much time as possible. (Jim Lewis said November or December) I have heard that there is something special about the box you should put it in when it is collected. What is that? Do I make the box to be a tight fit? Do I make it with plenty of drainage? Is there any place that I can get some guidance of what is needed when building a box? I plan on putting it in 100% Diatomaceous Earth when I collect it. Any concerns?

I had no idea it would take this long to resprout, so I think I might wait on digging it up until you have quite a lot of new growth. You will be cutting a lot of root on something this big. That will be a much worse shock than topping it.

Okie Dokie Jim  , for a long time there, I didn't know if it would ever do anything. I don't mind waiting till spring or later. I want to do what ever is best for this tree. Folks said they were slow growers, IS IT EVER! Now I just need to get some info about building a box. Any suggestions?

4 1" x 8" x anywhere from 2 to 4 feet long boards. Treated is fine. Either shade cloth or plywood with 6-8 1-inch holes drilled in it for the bottom. Nothing special about it. Screw it all together with brass or aluminum screws.

These pics were taken today 9/12/2013. Lots of new starts.

Looking better. Lots of new sprouts. I think you are far enough south that there will be a chance they will have time to mature and harden off before freezing weather sets in.

I definitely agree with Jim. Don't dig it up until Spring, or even later. Give the sprouts time to grow and harden off. It is the branches with leaves that will create the sugars needed to grow new roots. Wait to dig up the trunk until after you have a good amount of foliage to support the creation of new roots. Spring 2014 will be a better time than anytime this year. You could even wait until spring 2015, but then there is the danger you might like the way it looks as a landscape shrub again, and decide it will have to stay there until you move from the house.  

Leo,
No chance of me liking it better as a landscape shrub again. I want to Bonsai everything (if my dog would hold still long enough...... ).
I will probably wait till late spring 2014 to collect it.
I trimmed it back to see how it would look as a Bonsai. that's how I got it as one. My wife didn't like it trimmed to look like a tree, so she wanted to get rid of it.
I said I'll make a real Bonsai out of it instead.

Jim's original post to dig in Jan/Feb is the correct time for NC - anytime "before" Spring flush. If you wait until "late Spring" when it's covered with tender new growth, it will wilt and die back as one of the earlier posts described (Won't kill the tree, but you will be flagged for a false start!). Late Spring is probably right for Leo in N. IL. His suggestion to dig it next year is a great one - you could root prune it this Winter, let it flush for a year and then dig. (Might be better to stay married and move it this year though.) They move well, so you shouldn't have a problem.

When you do dig, keep in mind the roots of a tree in the landscape can be most anywhere due to cultural conditions, so start wide until you get a feel for where they are. 10" root ball per inch of dia is the rule of thumb for field grown nursery stock and while you won't need a root ball nearly that large, I would start 24" out and work my way in. It may have a nice dense uniform root system like you would find in a nursery tree, but it could also be completely one-sided. I would think a 24" root ball (digging 12" out) would be plenty, but if you are not finding roots on one side, you'll want to expand the diameter on the other side. Should there be few lateral roots on any side, go as deep as you can and maybe consider a 15 gal pot instead of a box for the first year. Obviously, the more roots you harvest, the faster the recovery.

BWise,
Thanks for the reply, depending on the temps, I will try to dig in mid-late Feb, and I'm fine with going to a 15 gal pot first if needed. I can just go pick up a nursery pot locally. When you say "I could just root prune it this winter",  do you mean just cut the main roots say 12" out all around but not dig it up? (I'm not sure what you mean.)
Thanks for your help,

Good thread to follow. I'm busy doing the same on some trees so its inspiring to know I'm on the right track.  

Update a little over a month later.....22OCT13.
New shoots are growing good, and more starting.

Excellent, leave these all grow, right now they look very tender, brittle, easy to break. Best to leave them all grow, because you will need these leaves to nurture roots when you dig. As mentioned above, dig in your ideal time for transplanting in your area. Coming along nicely. In order to build the root system, I would not do any, or very little styling until at least 12 months after digging it out of the ground. Keep as many as possible of the new branches until the tree is well established, I would delay the first styling until 2016. You will eventually have a very nice tree. Lots of possibilities growing there. Nice

Thanks for the feedback Leo!

hi Barkley,
any updated pics of your plant if u can share

I'm afraid I don't have any pics, it has not grown any more since the last pictures I posted. As a matter of fact, we have had an unusually cold winter with more snow and ice than we normally get. The branching is still there, but the cold has gotten the young leaves. We have had snow and ice for the last 3 out of 4 weeks (which is pretty much unheard of around here). I will post more pics as soon as it shows new growth.

Hey. Any news about this camellia?