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Camellia frost damage
midnightblue
Posts: 66
in Plants
My camellia is about 4 ft tall with roughly 4.5 ft spread. It has been badly burnt by cold winds, heavy frosts and snow this year and is now more yellow and brown than it is green. The leaves are also curled and it looks like the plant is dying.
There are no green leaves to prune back to because the plant is damaged down to ground level.
Can anyone suggest what I should do please? I'm thinking it is too far gone to recover so any suggestions are welcome.
0
Posts
Thanks for answering my question.
No nothing has changed, I don't use any chemicals and I haven't done anything to it or nearby yet this year. Occasionally in past years the leaves have done the same thing but only a few so I was able to snip them off. I've been here for 8 years (the shrub a lot longer) and this has been the coldest, frostiest and snowiest so I thought that was the cause but maybe its a disease of some sort? Thanks again
It's partly wind stress but also signs that there is an issue with roots not being able to take up nutrients. Possibly compacted soils or waterlogging. If planted without a barrier or surrounding wall shelter, it's struggling. If it's still alive, feed it in spring.
Thanks for the advice Borderline.
Its not in a position to be waterlogged but compaction is a possibility, I hadn't thought of that so once the weather warms up I'll work on that and then feed and mulch ... if, that is, there are any leaves left on it, I have a feeling they will all have fallen off by then!