Help with camellias please

I have a beautiful camellia tree that does not bloom well.....It puts on lots of buds has great foliage but they open halfway and that is it....Just a few of the blooms ever look right..... they get plenty sun...8-8-8 in the late fall...other trees on the property bloom great...It is really old and has always had this problem.. I just never tried to find out why..........help shirleyt

Maybe it has a bud rot fungus. I've had similar experiences with plants in general, however, they've corrected their ownselves (somehow). That sounds like one for your local extention agent.

Dax

Dax,have you tried thinning the buds and "gib" the healthy one,to see if they pull out of the rot?I have never tried that,but know of those who have,maybe location makes a differance.Mike

It is too late to show the bloom but here is the tree...morning sunlight makes it look lighter but look to the left of the pic that is in shad for the true healthy color of this tree.... there was not evidence of rot on the blooms just went so far and stopped......some were beautiful...some solid dark pink and some verigated with white....shirleyt .............edit..... the empty stems through out the tree are morning glory remains from last year....things got out of hand here after the storm....and the morning glory tried to take over this area......It has nothing to do with the problem because problem existed years before the morning glory .......

This message was edited May 27, 2006 12:25 PM

Shirleyt,how much sun does the plant get,and really do you need that mimosa that close?I can tell the plant is around 40years,or older,been exposed to harsh winds,but is in a protected area.

actually until Katrina it was protected by the garage that set to the right.... it was almost even with it ....but it got full sun most of the day.... I have other camellias that bloom profusely on the other side of the house.....which would be south. Katrina battered one of them but it still managed to bloom.....they get the same care..... yes it is at least 50 years old... and yes I do plan to remove the battered tree....I just did not have the heart to add that to the list of trees that had to be removed.... I had so many mutilated trees to take out I thought I would take this out later.....shirleyt

This message was edited May 27, 2006 4:11 PM

This message was edited May 27, 2006 4:14 PM

I have a 25 year old camellia (in Metairie) that did that a few years ago. I gave it a few doses of "Superthrive" (comes in a tiny bottle and all you need is a few drops to a gallon) and it did well for the past two years. You might also consider pruning it shorter and mulching it well and soaking it well when the buds start setting in August and September, our hottest months.
I dare say that Katrina did a number on all of us.

Thank you for that information.....I will see if I can find it.... the picture does not show it as green as it is...that is morning sunlight hitting it.... It had been cut back down to a stump about 12 years ago...That is not why it does this it has always been this way since 1975 when we moved here....who knows how long before.....maybe it is just so old it has done all it intends to do?????shirleyt

Not so shirleyt,there are camelias in Charlston that are more than 200 yrs old ,and only get better with time. Mike
I think it is "Middleton (sp) Place" with the largest camilia in the world ,but don't quote me on that,because my datta predates "Hugo"

This message was edited May 31, 2006 10:00 AM

There are some planted at temples in China that are nearly 1000 years old -- documented because the monks who planted them made records that have been preserved through the centuries!

And one in Germany -- the largest I've seen -- was brought from Japan in the 1700s, and every fall they roll a huge greenhouse over it on railroad tracks! I have pics but they're not handy right now. If anyone is really screamingly curious I'll try to find them later.

Guy S.

Find them.... I would love to see that...shirleyt

I'll have to look later. They're slides, probably buried waist deep in my files, and once I find them I would have to scan them to post them. Remind me in a few weeks when the spring season is over.

Guy S.

Don't worry yourself....Its ok... thanks anyway....shirleyt

When I made referance to the largest,I ment in the USofA,I'm sure there are older,there fore larger.If I ever traveled to China,or Germanie,it would be to see something like that.When I was in Norway,I saw very old lilac,that I couldn't believe,no telling how old they were.Mike