Hi,

I have a problem with a Camellia - it's in a large pot - and some of the
leaves turn completely yellow, then start going brown from the edge inwards.

There were a lot of buds, but these seem to be going brown before they open
into flowers, and the leaves have small brown dots on the underside.

The plant has been in the pot for a couple of years and has been very
healthy (or seemed so). Now it just seems 'poorly'.

I'm a hopeless gardener, and have looked around the internet for advice, but
have swamped myself with a million different 'answers'.

Any pointers would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Jon

"Jon" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I have a problem with a Camellia - it's in a large pot - and some of the
leaves turn completely yellow, then start going brown from the edge
inwards.

There were a lot of buds, but these seem to be going brown before they
open into flowers, and the leaves have small brown dots on the underside.

The plant has been in the pot for a couple of years and has been very
healthy (or seemed so). Now it just seems 'poorly'.

I'm a hopeless gardener, and have looked around the internet for advice,
but have swamped myself with a million different 'answers'.

Any pointers would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Jon
Sounds starved, Jon. Try re-potting in a bigger pot with an ericaceous type
compost, and feed it regularly - with an ericaceous feed - or plant it in
the garden somewhere where it won't get morning sun, and enrich the soil
with peat or some other enriching substance - again, ericaceous feed
regularly. It needs to be kept moist in the autumn for the flower buds to
form for the following year.

Chris S

On Sat, 13 May 2006 20:54:50 +0100, "Jon" wrote:

Hi,

I have a problem with a Camellia - it's in a large pot - and some of the
leaves turn completely yellow, then start going brown from the edge inwards.

There were a lot of buds, but these seem to be going brown before they open
into flowers, and the leaves have small brown dots on the underside.

The plant has been in the pot for a couple of years and has been very
healthy (or seemed so). Now it just seems 'poorly'.

I'm a hopeless gardener, and have looked around the internet for advice, but
have swamped myself with a million different 'answers'.

Any pointers would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Jon

How large is this large pot? In open ground and depending on the type,
a camellia can grow to 3 metres high and wide. They really need to be
in a decent sized tub or container, say 45-60 cm across.

What type of soil is it in? Did you plant it in ericaceous compost, or
a John Innes type or just general purpose compost? All acid-loving
plants such as camellias need to be in acid ericaceous compost,
whereas most JI and general purpose composts are alkaline.

When did you last feed and water it? Have you been watering it with
hard tap water? Hard tap water is alkaline and contains lime. Over
time, the lime builds up in the soil of the pot and turns it alkaline,
and camellias don't like alkaline soil; it turns their leaves yellow.

At this time of year and through the summer, it should be watered at
least once a week, and even twice a week in really hot weather, with
soft water or rainwater. It should be fed at least once a month with
ericaceous feed, from any garden centre. Follow the instructions on
the container. Change to a high potash feed (like tomato feed) in July
to promote flower bud formation in late summer. Don't feed after the
end of July, as this encourages late growth which may then be prone to
frost damage.

If it were mine, I would re-pot it into a decent sized tub using
ericaceous compost with a bit of extra grit mixed in to help the
drainage. Make sure there are several (at least 6 - 8) decent sized
(minimum 1 cm diameter) drainage holes (some tubs come without any
drainage holes at all!). Put some coarse gravel, small stones or
broken crocks into the bottom first, also to help drainage. Loosen the
roots slightly on the old 'pot-shaped' root ball, but try not to
damage them too much as they tend to be fleshy and brittle. Follow the
feeding and watering regime above.



--
Chris

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

There's some good tips there - thank you!



"Jon" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I have a problem with a Camellia - it's in a large pot - and some of the
leaves turn completely yellow, then start going brown from the edge
inwards.

There were a lot of buds, but these seem to be going brown before they
open into flowers, and the leaves have small brown dots on the underside.

The plant has been in the pot for a couple of years and has been very
healthy (or seemed so). Now it just seems 'poorly'.

I'm a hopeless gardener, and have looked around the internet for advice,
but have swamped myself with a million different 'answers'.

Any pointers would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Jon