Camellia not doing well

annonimus2111 · June 2023

Hello
I have a well established camellia, maybe 25+ years old, that is about 12 feet high, and has recently been deteriorating year by year, with the leaves looking paler and tending to yellow, though it still flowers. This year I noticed that there is a new stem right beside the main stem, and that it has good green foliage, though I do not think it has been flowering. I do not know whether it is a sucker or a new plant. Should I remove the new stem, in the hope that that will correct the problem with the main part of the camellia?

Lyn · June 2023

They do seem to deteriorate over years and respond well to hard pruning, cut it down as hard as you like, it will bounce back as it’s obviously been happy in its position.
We are current if having a really good sort out of our acid loving plants, camelias and rhododendrons right back, The ones cut back last year are doing really well.

Without a photo it’s difficult to imagine what the side branch/shoot is like.

Mrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants · June 2023

Ours was up past the conservatory roof and was cut down to a foot. Bounced back.

Fairygirl · June 2023

If it's been failing steadily over time, it would have benefited from being cut back a long time ago, as that would have rejuvenated it @annonimus2111.
However, you'll probably need to look at how it's growing if it's sickly looking. That suggests the ground is poor that it's growing in. They need decent soil, neutral to acidic, with lots of moisture and good drainage. In poorer, or unamended soil, they'll deteriorate, so you need to add some organic matter on a regular basis to keep it healthy. If it's in a sunny site, that isn't ideal either. Dappled shade is best.

A photo will help though - and more info about your conditions

Lyn · June 2023

As it’s 25 years old and 12’ tall I assumed it was happy in its place, like ours just got leggy, as they do.
Our row of huge rhododendrons did the same, we chain sawed them down almost to the ground.
Ours are happy but they can get out of control over the years.

The one I cut right down and put out on our road side verge is thriving in gravelly road chippings, Not much soil there, but it is very acid. Which is what they like.
Do they grow suckers? That I don’t know.

Fairygirl · June 2023

They do get to a good height once they've been in place a while, but I'm wondering where the OP is too @Lyn.
Even here, and conditions are quite similar to yours, where we never need to worry about them re watering/soil etc, I've started seeing some sorry looking specimens because they've not had quite the right spot, and they're now suffering because our conditions have been so different over the last couple of years - especially the lower rainfall and heat. In normal conditions, it's easy to have loads of shrubs all planted closely together in beds/borders, but the ground is now drying out too much and that's affecting any shrubs or plants that need consistently damp soil. My camassias certainly haven't flowered as well as usual, and when I lifted some yesterday, the soil was very dry in the top few inches.
Like the many dying conifers I'm seeing, sometimes it can take a while for the effects to show too. Rhodos are the same, being shallow rooted, so I think there'll be a few casualties in gardens this year if this horrible heat continues much longer.

Lyn · June 2023

Mine’s dry down to about 2/3 inches, under that it’s ok, only where it’s had lots of compost on though, the rest it’s very dry, never know drought here this early.

Camellia not doing well

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