This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
camilliea
ann386
Posts: 18
I planted my new camilliea last year and this year it has not flowered and became hard wood like leaves and stem, why?
0
Posts
Camellias are woody shrubs so that is quite normal for them. I am not quite understanding what you mean about the leaves? In their first few years after planting they need plenty of water, especially during the summer months whilst they are forming the flowering buds for next year. As woodland plants they prefer a semi shaded area to grow in with protection from strong winds. They also prefer an acid soil.
What is acid soil?
Soils can be roughly divided into 3 types. Acid, Alkaline and Neutral. A lot depends on the bed rock the soils are formed from. Some plants will only succeed in one particular type of soils and be most unhappy and die if grown in the wrong soil. Camellias, Rhododendrons and most Heathers like to grow in acid soils. You can get a simple soil testing kit from a garden centre to test your garden soil.
The way it is measured is called the pH reading. A reading of 7 means the soil is neutral. Higher than 7 up to 14 is alkaline. Lower than 7 is acid.
Acid soil has a low pH.
To get some idea of what your soil is probably like there's a very good map here-
http://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/
I was always under the impression that the soil where I live is slightly alkaline - I was wrong.
Which makes sense, as camellia, acers etc all do well
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
if the camellia has no leaves then its dead, camellia's are evergreen,
if it has leaves, but no flowers that is a different problem that may be due to dry soil during the previous summer (when the flower buds form)
It's leaves are brown and hard
Then I'm sorry Ann but your Camellia sounds dead to me.
Here is a photo of my camellia
If it's dead? Why did it happen?
That definitely looks as if it has died. When planting a new shrub there should not be any other plants around its roots as they will compete for food and water. You should leave a circle of bare earth around the stem of the branch. The Camellia should have been soaked well for at least 30 minutes - preferably in rain water - prior to planting and it should have been planted at the same depth it was in the pot. I may be quite wrong but the area does not appear to be very shaded which is what the Camellia would prefer. New shrubs should be watered regularly for the first two years of settling in to a garden. If you planted it out in the latest hot spell it would have struggled if any of the above advice wasn't followed.