Ok thank you maybe the camellia in question got less water somehow than the other two did .Don’t know how but I suppose anything is possible .It’s the only thing that makes sense from what everyone has advised . So I’ll wait and see what it does .It’s in dappled shade and has been all year .
I understand the red camelias tend to be more picky than the whites and pinks. That's not from personal experience though, I think I saw it on Beechgrove. My soil isn't ideal for them so I only grow C. williamsii "Donation" which is one of the more tolerant ones.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
If you had the serious heat that many areas in the south had this year, it will have been a bridge too far for that one. They can tolerate a certain amount of sun, and that also varies with variety, but if you look at where they originate from, you'll see why relentless heat and dry conditions is very difficult for them. It's why they grow so well here - a damper, cooler climate Donation is definitely one of the easier ones @JennyJ - it's much more tolerant of all sorts of conditions. The whites don't grow so well up here because they do seem to need more warmth. I actually saw a few whites flowering in gardens this spring - it had been a very mild winter, and a very hot summer last year, so it must have given them a boost.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Camellias, even in the open ground, suffer. from dryness at the time flower buds are being formed. They shed their buds a lot later.
Peat-free composts can be difficlut to rewet once they dry out. All the watering may have by-passed the roots.
The leaf-drop may be related, maybe something different. A good plunge in a bucket of water until bubbles stop coming out may yet save the plant(s) but not next spring's flowers.
4 years without repotting could be another thing to look at.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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So I’ll wait and see what it does .It’s in dappled shade and has been all year .
Donation is definitely one of the easier ones @JennyJ - it's much more tolerant of all sorts of conditions. The whites don't grow so well up here because they do seem to need more warmth. I actually saw a few whites flowering in gardens this spring - it had been a very mild winter, and a very hot summer last year, so it must have given them a boost.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Peat-free composts can be difficlut to rewet once they dry out. All the watering may have by-passed the roots.
The leaf-drop may be related, maybe something different. A good plunge in a bucket of water until bubbles stop coming out may yet save the plant(s) but not next spring's flowers.
4 years without repotting could be another thing to look at.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."