Old Camellias need TLC

Hiya - I am 6 months in a new old house (we are rebuilding) with a magnificent Camellia grove - about 30 mature trees! I left them to flower this season to become familiar with them, some flowered well but most were scatty, buds not opening, and they seem to be over-run with tiny spiders... lots of insects on the trees and flowers, and lots of spiderwebs (which made cutting them for display disappointing).

Any suggestions are welcome regarding pruning back and preparing for the summer, and of course, getting rid of the bugs?! I was thinking I should cut them back by a third and spray, but my gardener friend said 'No, just tidy them up.'

Thanks

Hello BlueGum. Camellias are one of the most forgiving plants in regard to pruning. I have seen them cut back to the very trunk. One of the ladies whose garden I was doing had several old ones that sounded like yours. I cut them back severely after flowering and they are looking very well this year.
Sometimes all that is needed is a good feed too. I would start with a good lot of Blood & Bone plus a handful of potash for each tree. I do this for all my garden every Spring . A spray with a systemic bug spray would help if the bugs are bad. If you are a bit wary of severe pruning, just cut back by half and see how they do. Give them a good watering if they get too dry in Summer. I hope this helps. Jean.

Another thing to remember with camellias is to clear all the fallen flowers away, they can harbor nasty blight which will make your flowers go brown & fall off.
This is worse in damp weather.
My camellias had a good prune back a couple of years ago, took them down below the top of our 6 ft fence.
I thought my neighbours would like the extra light into their kitchen but they asked me to leave them to grow as they like the privacy more!
As you can see form the pic they are way taller than the 6 ft fence now.
Cheers - Dalfyre

Thanks everyone.

A nice thick mulch of aged cow poo will make them very happy as they enjoy acid soil. If the Sun hits the morning dew on the blooms it can cause the petals to brown off too and the buds cannot open if that happens, generally the lighter the colour the more shelter they require, lucky you to have a grove of camelias. We would love to see the blooms next season.