On 30/3/09 10:05, in article , "may"
wrote:

My camellia started of in a pot, and flowered for a couple of years ,
then
on the third year it produced a mass of really big buds which all
fell off before they had the chance to flower, i did read that if they
are not watered enough throughout the summer months that this could
happen , so i thought it would be best to plant it in the ground which
i did , it was about 3 feet high by then ,
so i planted it in a really big hole and watered it well for weeks
afterwards, and also gave it camellia food. but now it has black
stuff like soot on its leaves and it has not produced one bud this
year. and the leaves are not as green as they used to be. my
roderdendron seems to do ok in my soil so i am not sure what is
wrong, do you think i should just dig it up and try a new one?




If you're growing Rhododendrons, you should be able to grow Camellias. They
need humus rich, well-drained acidic soil and are probably happiest in
dappled shade. It sounds as if your plant has sooty mould and this site
will give you some info on it:
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/sootymould.htm
The lack of greening is possibly chlorosis and the plant needs a feed with
some potash now at roughly monthly intervals and then some nitrogen in July.
The other thing is that if you're using bark chippings as a mulch, as they
break down they take nutrients from the soil and this can affect your
Camellia, too.
I'd give it at least another year with the right treatment before giving up
on it. It sounds as if it's had a rather bumpy start in life!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
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