Camelia - black new shoots

I hard pruned our camelia as it had outgrown its space. After two months I saw black aphids on the leaves, something we had never had in 15 years. I assumed the pruning had weakened the plant? I sprayed it with something called "Bug Clear". I did a second spraying a week later. The aphids seem to have mostly gone but new shoots are growing black. The big mature leaves look pretty good but the new ones are coming out diseased. Was it the spraying? Is this normal after an aphid infection? Should I get rid of these black shoots? I have posted photos. Thank you.

 

@Tracy P
1) When did you prune the camellia?
2) When did you notice that the new shoots had turned black?
Just wondering if the shoots have been damaged by the recent frosty weather.
An idea of where you are and if the camellia is exposed to winds would be helpful.

 

My camelias are not growing new shoots at this time of the year, and are mostly just in bud.
I usually do any pruning needed after flowering.

 

My memory is hazy but I think I pruned it three months ago. I think I noticed the black shoots last week. I am in London. It's mostly sheltered by the garden fence but the top is taller than the fence.

 

I think it might be frost damage, pruning three months ago would have encouraged new shoots that you really don't want at this time of the year.

 

@Tracy P Pruning is unlikely to have weakened the camellia. The black shoots will either drop off or if less damaged push out new growth from their middle. I would suggest pruning after the flowers are finished, that way the new growth has plenty of time to ripen and harden off before the winter comes.

 

Thank you both. The presence of aphids confused me. I had a gap in my otherwise demanding job and I just used it to do the long due pruning, but I am learning that nature's schedule is more important than my schedule. Now I must apologise to the camelia