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camellias in distress

bgrdnrbgrdnr Posts: 3
in Problem solving
The attached photo is of one of four camellias planted a year ago. They have not been really super healthy since then but the distress has now grown. Can anyone identify its source and offer a remedy? The nursery that sold them was unable to help.

Posts

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Hello, thats a very sickly camellia! Camellias need an acid soil to grow well, so I assume yours is alkaline? Have you tested your soil PH?

    If planted in alkaline soil, the plant cannot take up the minerals and nutrients it needs from the ground and so the leaves turn sickly and yellow, a condition called chlorosis. If your soil is alkaline, it would be better to lift it and put it in a large pot, in an ericaceous compost (which has a low PH suited to acid-loving plants).

    If you want to persevere with it there, give it a dose of sequestered iron, mulch with ericaceous compost and then feed once a month with a liquid feed for acid-lovers like camellias, azaleas etc. All three of these things will be available from your local garden centre.

    Shocking that the nursery could offer you no advice, btw!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It doesn't look a very hospitable site for it though, and it's probably far too dry, because of competition from surrounding planting. Not sure what that is on the ground either. Are all four like that?

    Camellias only need neutral soil, not necessarily acid, but they also need reliably moist soil to do well. A site out of morning sun is preferred too, so a west to north west [or even north]  facing site is ideal. They need reasonable shade too. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • batwood14batwood14 Posts: 193
    Also look at the root structure. I find that with some young plants their root structure is too small to take in the ground that is not ideally suited to them. I have dug up two young Camellia plants and kept them in pots for 2 years in the right soil so that they can develop a good strong root system. I am on heavy clay and on the acidic side which is ok but not ideal for a young plant. 
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    All good advice so far. Is that a Camellia Sinensis? They can be quite sensitive to harsh cold weather. As pointed out, they are quite small and young, and may be better off potted up for a few years until they are more mature enough to be planted out.

    Yours look like it's damaged by harsh weather and possible competition from surrounding plants and possibly over-hanging taller shrubs. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm also wondering what they looked like on planting. Something's very wrong with the conditions if they've only been there a year, but I think we'd need a wider view of it all, and some more info, so that we can offer any other advice.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bgrdnrbgrdnr Posts: 3
    Thank you all.
    Fairygirl asked for a wider view which is attached.
    And Nollie, the soil tests at around 7 so neutral. (The soil, under straw mulch, was wet enough when dug into for soil for test that it need drying overnight before it could be crumbled to fit in test tube.)
    The sun is morning although opinions must differ since the info that came with plants recommended morning as opposed to afternoon exposure.
    And Borderline, indeed sinensis, am hoping to harvest tea. Although this is zone 8 last winter we had a freak snowstorm and colder than normal weather for a week. Never moved much above freezing. (Unfortunately it seems we can all expect more freak weather.)
    And indeed, the soil is clayey in that particular spot even though much compost has been added. Somewhat similar to yours perhaps, Batwood.
    The plants looked fine when they arrived and were planted. The nearest one in this photo was the first, mid-summer after planting, to show distress.
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Sounds like you are based in America, so not totally sure about your climate there. I suspect zone 8 is fine for Camellias. Here in the UK, Camellias do well so long as it's planted in neutral to acidic soil conditions. From what you describe, I think your soil is too alkaline to grow Camellias. Your shrubs look young too. I would dig them up and pot them into Ericaceous compost and prune them back by almost half and keep them somewhere semi shaded for a year to see how they get on. Others may have a different view.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I wonder if the straw mulch could be taking nitrogen from the soil while it breaks down?  I think I've heard that fresh wood/bark chippings used as a mulch can do that, so maybe straw is the same if it's not been composted first.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    A lot of plants are only just showing signs of stress now after last years exceptional long hot dry Summer. As they were young plants last year they needed more tlc methinks!
    Good advice already given should sort them out, the only thing I would add is my favourite,  give them a foliar feed with dilute seaweed tonic this may speed up the recovery.
    AB Still learning

  • bgrdnrbgrdnr Posts: 3
    Thank you all for your kind input.
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