My mother bought be a camellia to grow in a pot in my previous garden -
the soil was considerably more limey there, and it needed to be on the
steps to be west-facing, which is I think why she suggested a pot. She
has grown them in pots for ages and she knows more than me about
gardening so I just did what she suggested. And the camellia has
sentimental value (apparently when I was born, in February in Devon, my
grandfather brought a camellia flower in to the hospital for her. I'm
38 - in the noughties it flowered in November in London and December in
Lancashire. Hmm.)

In the new house it's also west-facing, although the soil is more acid
here, it's still in a pot, and this summer the leaves started turning
brown (it did flower in the spring), and now they've all dropped off.
I can see a few signs of buds (although maybe it's the eye of faith).
I suspect, having looked it up, that the problem was caused by either
a) underwatering (less likely) b) overwatering (fairly likely) or c)
too much fertiliser (also likely) or possibly d) having nasturtiums in
the pot too, though it's had them before without complaining. It had a
whole year in the same spot without complaining, also, and our water is
again a lot less alkaline than in London, plus it rains more so it gets
more rainwater.

The problem was, she says embarassedly, that it was one of about 4
non-tomato pots at the front of the house, where there were about 8
pots of tomatoes, and I just watered everything the same - incuding
some feed (mainly seaweed but also tomato feed - I did try not to give
tomato feed to the other plants though). This seemed to suit the
hanging basket and the roses, but not the camellia.

So, should I a) give up now and confess to my mother
b) wait till after Christmas and see if it flowers/produces any more
leaves
c) go out and try and find one about the same size and hope she doesn't
notice??!

thanks!

Katie

On 19/11/05 11:40, in article
, "
wrote:

My mother bought be a camellia to grow in a pot in my previous garden -
the soil was considerably more limey there, and it needed to be on the
steps to be west-facing, which is I think why she suggested a pot. She
has grown them in pots for ages and she knows more than me about
gardening so I just did what she suggested. And the camellia has
sentimental value (apparently when I was born, in February in Devon, my
grandfather brought a camellia flower in to the hospital for her. I'm
38 - in the noughties it flowered in November in London and December in
Lancashire. Hmm.)

My son is nearly 30 and when he was born by mother in law brought me
Inspiration, Donation and another 'ion' I now forget. Bearing in mind one
of the possible effects of childbirth, a friend of mine asked if she'd also
brought one called Constipation. ;-)

In the new house it's also west-facing, although the soil is more acid
here, it's still in a pot, and this summer the leaves started turning
brown (it did flower in the spring), and now they've all dropped off.
I can see a few signs of buds (although maybe it's the eye of faith).
I suspect, having looked it up, that the problem was caused by either
a) underwatering (less likely) b) overwatering (fairly likely) or c)
too much fertiliser (also likely) or possibly d) having nasturtiums in
the pot too, though it's had them before without complaining. It had a
whole year in the same spot without complaining, also, and our water is
again a lot less alkaline than in London, plus it rains more so it gets
more rainwater.

The problem was, she says embarassedly, that it was one of about 4
non-tomato pots at the front of the house, where there were about 8
pots of tomatoes, and I just watered everything the same - incuding
some feed (mainly seaweed but also tomato feed - I did try not to give
tomato feed to the other plants though). This seemed to suit the
hanging basket and the roses, but not the camellia.

So, should I a) give up now and confess to my mother
b) wait till after Christmas and see if it flowers/produces any more
leaves
c) go out and try and find one about the same size and hope she doesn't
notice??!


My husband thinks that the tomato fertiliser was probably not a good idea
because Camellias shouldn't be over-fertilised. He recommends an ericaceous
fertiliser feed in spring and another in autumn but no more than that. He's
not exactly optimistic about your plant's chances of recovery but suggests
leaving it alone and seeing if it does come back in the spring. As he says,
there is nothing to lose! He also wonders if watering, over or under, or a
fortnight's holiday with no watering, might have contributed to the problem.
If it DOES survive, make sure it gets just enough water to keep it damp, not
saturated and that it can drain properly, not stand in water.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Katie wrote
My mother bought be a camellia to grow in a pot in my previous garden -
the soil was considerably more limey there, and it needed to be on the
steps to be west-facing, which is I think why she suggested a pot. She
has grown them in pots for ages and she knows more than me about
gardening so I just did what she suggested. And the camellia has
sentimental value (apparently when I was born, in February in Devon, my
grandfather brought a camellia flower in to the hospital for her. I'm
38 - in the noughties it flowered in November in London and December in
Lancashire. Hmm.)

In the new house it's also west-facing, although the soil is more acid
here, it's still in a pot, and this summer the leaves started turning
brown (it did flower in the spring), and now they've all dropped off.
I can see a few signs of buds (although maybe it's the eye of faith).
I suspect, having looked it up, that the problem was caused by either
a) underwatering (less likely) b) overwatering (fairly likely) or c)
too much fertiliser (also likely) or possibly d) having nasturtiums in
the pot too, though it's had them before without complaining. It had a
whole year in the same spot without complaining, also, and our water is
again a lot less alkaline than in London, plus it rains more so it gets
more rainwater.

The problem was, she says embarassedly, that it was one of about 4
non-tomato pots at the front of the house, where there were about 8
pots of tomatoes, and I just watered everything the same - incuding
some feed (mainly seaweed but also tomato feed - I did try not to give
tomato feed to the other plants though). This seemed to suit the
hanging basket and the roses, but not the camellia.

So, should I a) give up now and confess to my mother
b) wait till after Christmas and see if it flowers/produces any more
leaves
c) go out and try and find one about the same size and hope she doesn't
notice??!

Personally, if the soil in your new garden is pH7 or below (acid) I would
plant it in the ground and let it do it's own thing. Prepare the hole with
plenty of peat/compost dug in. If the roots are alive and well it will
survive although if it is overwatering etc that has caused the problem it
may well be you have drowned them or even burnt them with the fertilizer.
You will see that when you take it out of it's pot.
Did you leave it with a full water tray for days, sitting in water?

If you do plant it out remember some get big, like small trees in time. They
don't have to be in a West facing spot, or rather, protected from the rising
sun, it's just that helps to stop the flowers being burnt with the sun on
frosty days, the plant won't mind. Three of ours are against an East facing
fence and have been for 30+ years.

Camellias tend to take a long time to show abuse, they can be dying and not
show it until it's too late.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

wrote in message
ups.com...
My mother bought be a camellia to grow in a pot in my previous garden -
the soil was considerably more limey there, and it needed to be on the
steps to be west-facing, which is I think why she suggested a pot. She
has grown them in pots for ages and she knows more than me about
gardening so I just did what she suggested. And the camellia has
sentimental value (apparently when I was born, in February in Devon, my
grandfather brought a camellia flower in to the hospital for her. I'm
38 - in the noughties it flowered in November in London and December in
Lancashire. Hmm.)
In the new house it's also west-facing, although the soil is more acid
here, it's still in a pot, and this summer the leaves started turning
brown (it did flower in the spring), and now they've all dropped off.

....

If the leaves first turned yellow, then this may be a symptom of
iron deficiency, which is sometimes encountered in acid soils, where
the iron stays locked in the soil. This can be remedied by
feeding the plant sequestered iron, which is reckoned to be
a good all round "tonic" for camellias, azalias etc. As it
would need to be, judging by the price they charge for individual
sachets. However a single feeding appears to eliminate yellowing
leaves on quite large bushes 5ft plus, for many seasons to come.



michael adams

....



thanks!

Katie

In article , michael adams
writes


If the leaves first turned yellow, then this may be a symptom of
iron deficiency, which is sometimes encountered in acid soils, where
the iron stays locked in the soil. This can be remedied by
feeding the plant sequestered iron, which is reckoned to be
a good all round "tonic" for camellias, azalias etc. As it
would need to be, judging by the price they charge for individual
sachets. However a single feeding appears to eliminate yellowing
leaves on quite large bushes 5ft plus, for many seasons to come.

That goes against what I understood, which is that acid loving plants
have difficulty in taking up iron in *alkaline* soils, as evidenced by
yellowing of leaves, when sequestered iron may help.

Someone please un-confuse me!
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote
after michael adams
If the leaves first turned yellow, then this may be a symptom of
iron deficiency, which is sometimes encountered in acid soils, where
the iron stays locked in the soil. This can be remedied by
feeding the plant sequestered iron, which is reckoned to be
a good all round "tonic" for camellias, azalias etc. As it
would need to be, judging by the price they charge for individual
sachets. However a single feeding appears to eliminate yellowing
leaves on quite large bushes 5ft plus, for many seasons to come.

That goes against what I understood, which is that acid loving plants
have difficulty in taking up iron in *alkaline* soils, as evidenced by
yellowing of leaves, when sequestered iron may help.

Someone please un-confuse me!

You are quite correct Kay. That is my understanding too.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

I don't remember them going yellow first, though the brown came in
patches.

I don't think it sat in water for too long, though, as it was in a pot
directly on the bed, rather than in a saucer, so there is that.

I think I will wait and see how it is and if it survives, remember my
lesson for future years. And concentrate on showing my mother our new
back yard when she comes to visit...

Katie

wrote in message
oups.com...
I don't remember them going yellow first, though the brown came in
patches.

I don't think it sat in water for too long, though, as it was in a pot
directly on the bed, rather than in a saucer, so there is that.

I think I will wait and see how it is and if it survives, remember my
lesson for future years. And concentrate on showing my mother our new
back yard when she comes to visit...

Katie

Lack of iron or manganese, causes yellowing foliage or 'chlorosis' where
alkaline (pH 6.5) soil prevents uptake of these nutrients. Cure with a
'chelated' compound containing iron and manganese.

Brown, dry and falling leaves are commonly caused by root damage following
waterlogging, excessive fertiliser use, drought, root disease or, in pots,
vine weevil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 13:59:10 -0000, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:



Camellias tend to take a long time to show abuse, they can be dying and not
show it until it's too late.

I'll second that. I nearly lost several young ones this summer,
despite being planted in the ground and well mulched. They got dry and
I didn't notice until the leaves started doing just what the OP
described. Fortunately I just caught them in time, but I reckon
they'll take a year or two to fully recover. As you say, when they
start showing signs of distress, it's often too late.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 17:33:04 +0000, Kay
wrote:

In article , michael adams
writes


If the leaves first turned yellow, then this may be a symptom of
iron deficiency, which is sometimes encountered in acid soils, where
the iron stays locked in the soil. This can be remedied by
feeding the plant sequestered iron, which is reckoned to be
a good all round "tonic" for camellias, azalias etc. As it
would need to be, judging by the price they charge for individual
sachets. However a single feeding appears to eliminate yellowing
leaves on quite large bushes 5ft plus, for many seasons to come.

That goes against what I understood, which is that acid loving plants
have difficulty in taking up iron in *alkaline* soils, as evidenced by
yellowing of leaves, when sequestered iron may help.

Someone please un-confuse me!

Iron does not become locked up in acid soils as MA claims, quite the
opposite in fact. He's got it wrong, unless there's a very unusual set
of circumstances he has in mind. I understand it _is_ possible to get
chlorosis in ericaceous plants even when grown in an acid medium if
that medium is deficient in iron, for example in pure peat, but not in
natural soils where iron is plentiful.

Both over-watering or over-fertilising can damage root systems,
depriving the plant of iron and other essential nutrients and leading
to chlorosis amongst other things. The OP said she was aware this was
a possibility, but didn't mention chlorosis.

The OP could try scratching the bark with her fingernail to see if
it's still green underneath, in which case there may be hope.




--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , michael adams
writes


If the leaves first turned yellow, then this may be a symptom of
iron deficiency, which is sometimes encountered in acid soils, where
the iron stays locked in the soil. This can be remedied by
feeding the plant sequestered iron, which is reckoned to be
a good all round "tonic" for camellias, azalias etc. As it
would need to be, judging by the price they charge for individual
sachets. However a single feeding appears to eliminate yellowing
leaves on quite large bushes 5ft plus, for many seasons to come.

That goes against what I understood, which is that acid loving plants
have difficulty in taking up iron in *alkaline* soils, as evidenced by
yellowing of leaves, when sequestered iron may help.

Someone please un-confuse me!

That's what the books all say as well. If only I'd bought that
soil testing kit and done the regular six month tests I wouldn't
have got in such a muddle. Lime always sounds so acid to me, thats
the problem. Little green things. The sequesterine worked a treat
anyway.



michael adams

....





--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"