poorly camelia
 

Hi

I have a camelia. It is now about 7 years old and has always lived in pot. This spring it is not looking too healthy (see attached photos). A lot of the leaves are yellow/brown. We did have a cold winter. The leaves haven't fallen off and I can't see any pests/fungus etc. I looked on the web for common problems with camelias and it doesn't seem to be any of those. I think it may just be nutrient deficient as I hadn't changed the earth on the pot for 2 or 3 years. I've moved the plant to a more shady position and repotted in fresh ericaceous soil. Is this enough to help it recover or should I do some other things?
Thanks

poorly camelia
 

"woodcocs" wrote
I have a camelia. It is now about 7 years old and has always lived in
pot. This spring it is not looking too healthy (see attached photos).
A lot of the leaves are yellow/brown. We did have a cold winter. The
leaves haven't fallen off and I can't see any pests/fungus etc. I
looked on the web for common problems with camelias and it doesn't seem
to be any of those. I think it may just be nutrient deficient as I
hadn't changed the earth on the pot for 2 or 3 years. I've moved the
plant to a more shady position and repotted in fresh ericaceous soil.
Is this enough to help it recover or should I do some other things?
Thanks
..........................

Sounds like you have done the right thing but a word of warning, one of ours
that is a tree about 15ft tall is showing similar leaf problems and leaf
loss during the last two years. I'm beginning to wonder if there is a "new"
disease around.
You can see the leaves of mine at...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobhobd...7626110259390/

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

Does look like winter damage.
The problems that we've had is that, the plants where frozen in pots for so long that they where unable to take up any water and this has stressed the plants to the point of death.
also during the days where the temperature got above freezing, the green parts of the plant thawed out but the pots and root remained frozen.
The garden camelias faired better as their roots where able to go deeper down into the unfrozen earth to get moisture.

The prognosis is not too good and I wouldn't be too surprised if it does dies over the next few weeks as the temperatures start to rise.

You did well moving it to a shadier spot though, but really really be careful with the watering as it's not going to be taking alot of water in atm due to root damage and the extra compost of the repotting, just keep it bearly moist, and try to keep it from too much rain.

Good luck!

Thanks - that's really informative. It is still alive, but not loking too well. I hope it pulls through as it has emotional attachment for me. We did have a really long cold spell over the winter with sub zero temperatures - I've never seen our fish pond with such thick ice for so long. I take it you suggest minimal watering as with it not taking up water there is a risk of the roots rotting? If it survives I'll move it next year if we get similar weather. Thanks