camelias etc struggling in inner city planter box.

About 2 years ago, we built a little garden in a small courtyard which gets
indirect sun only. We planted camelias, gardenias, Japanese maples, mondo
grass and a few other small shrubs. The soil is a commercial terracotta
soil mix. The plant box is about 40cm deep. At the bottom is a bit a
concrete rubble which couldn't be removed. Drainage is good. We also have a
single mature camelia in a concrete pot (60cm diameter). This plant was
bought from a nursery. The property is in Sydney's inner city area so it
gets a lot of polution fallout. I have fertilised on occasion with an acidic
camelia / azalea fertiliser. I water about twice a week.

Our problem is that keeping plants alive has been a struggle. The camelia
branches all die off from the tips inwards. During spring there was good
regrowth, but not enough to make up for the losses. One of the maples has
also died recently after producing good foliage during Spring. Even the
mondo grass is starting to look yellow, like it is struggling.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing these problems?
If the problem is that our plant selection is unsuitable for the location,
what might do better?

Many thanks,
Paul

repot them in new potting mix, removing quite a lot of the old stuff from
the roots and start using a slow release fertilizer regularly if you do
it very soon the plants will have a good chance to re-establish themselves
before the weather cools down

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 10:28:07 GMT, "CrumpetHead" wrote:

About 2 years ago, we built a little garden in a small courtyard which gets
indirect sun only. We planted camelias, gardenias, Japanese maples, mondo
grass and a few other small shrubs. The soil is a commercial terracotta
soil mix. The plant box is about 40cm deep. At the bottom is a bit a
concrete rubble which couldn't be removed. Drainage is good. We also have a

Concrete rubble is bad news. It can be quite alkaline. And are the drainage
holes at the very bottom of the planter or a couple of inches above the bottom?
If the latter, soil under the drainage holes can go stagnant.

single mature camelia in a concrete pot (60cm diameter). This plant was
bought from a nursery. The property is in Sydney's inner city area so it
gets a lot of polution fallout. I have fertilised on occasion with an acidic
camelia / azalea fertiliser. I water about twice a week.

The pollution shouldn't be a hassle. I live on a very busy main road and have
some very healthy camellias in pots

Our problem is that keeping plants alive has been a struggle. The camelia
branches all die off from the tips inwards. During spring there was good
regrowth, but not enough to make up for the losses. One of the maples has
also died recently after producing good foliage during Spring. Even the
mondo grass is starting to look yellow, like it is struggling.

Sounds like the soil is too alkaline. Have you tested the pH?

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing these problems?
If the problem is that our plant selection is unsuitable for the location,
what might do better?

Plastic plants? ;-)