no blooms, otherwise very healthy looking Camellia sasanqua

I planted two Camellia sasanqua "Doubly Rainbow" last winter. This year I only got several blooms on one of them and none on the other. Only a few buds developed on the one that bloomed and no buds ever formed on the other one. I'm afraid my soil might be too rich for these guys as I amended it heavily with chicken manure and rice hulls right before I planted them. They are planted on the west facing side of the house but shaded by a very large liquid amber tree planted about 25 feet away. I do not believe there is much root competition from the large tree in this particular spot. The non-blooming one gets slightly more shade and is planted pretty high in the soil. companion plants are heucheras, columbine, foxgloves, penstemon "thorn", rosa californica (no blooms either), and pansies, all doing well. I'm wondering what is going on - could they just be settling in? If its over fertilized, what should i do now? One source said it can take years for a camellia to recover from over fertilization : ( These are a major part of my landscape, no blooms is a major bummer.

wonderearth:

Sorry that I can't help out on cultural advice/info for Camellias - they're a bit tender for the Ohio River valley region in which I garden.

There are several folks on DG that have quite an interest in Camellias, though - but for the life of me, I can't recall their names right now. You might search back through this forum for postings about Camellias, or take a look in PlantFiles and see who has posted images or comments about these fine plants. Once you find a couple names, you might "call them out" by sending them a Dmail with your same info request or a link to this posting.

You might get a faster reply that way, than waiting and hoping that knowledgeable eyes see this thread. Good luck!

You might just need to be patient--many shrubs take a little while to get going. I don't grow camellias, but most of my shrubs have taken a couple years before they really get going on the blooms. I have one shrub that now finally almost 5 yrs after I planted it has graced me with flowers. Most don't take quite that long, but 2-3 yrs is definitely not unheard of.

wonderearth-I have worked at a very nice garden center for 5 yrs. We sell many camellias. The sasanquas can take almost full sun all day as opposed to the japonicas which prefer afternoon shade. I believe you may also be a little too warm for these pretties-they like a cold winter.

Oh. Hmmm, Very interesting! I really don't see them around town very often, maybe thats why. They have loads of them every year at the nurseries large and small alike. I didn't know about the cold bit. Sounds like they actually neeeeed full sun for bloom? THanks for the info. I talked to a local nursery person and she had a disappointing show from her sassanquas in stock this year.

They need an acidic soil BTW. As far as shade we have camellias growing all over the place and almost all of them grow nicely in shade, they prefer being under tall pines.

I have a camellia sassanqua, "April Blush," that appears healthy but also does not bloom. It's about three years old now. It sets on buds but they do not open. I had thought that the problem here was too much shade, but the nearby Oriental lilies bloom. Perhaps we just need to be patient! It is such an exquisite plant that I was afraid it might be too tender for this location, so I am grateful it is at least surviving.

I was thinking about how near by plants are doing. There is a penstemon "thorn" that is a slow bloomer, but does bloom right next to it. Id think that would be enough sun but.....? There was flowering tobacco that bloomed well untill it succumbed to a grey mold at the base.

If tobacco bloomed a camellia certainly will or at least it's not a matter of sunlight.

Thnks! That what I thought!