Vanisle_BC
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Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

Is this Camellia beyond hope?

My wife was given this Camellia as a present last year; variety unknown but said to be yellow. Through most of the winter its leaves & buds seemed healthy but now it looks very sad. we're in Zone 7. Sorry the photo is sideways but if you click on it, it rights itself. A second click should enlarge it :)
Camellia.JPG
The local nursery person said it would have been dehydrated, suggested to blame our past year's climate: hot summer, low rainfall generally and an unusually cool spring. (No very hard frost but many overnights -3 to -5C.) The plant is not closely protected but is only a few feet from the house and we get very little wind. It gets almost no direct sun.

Can you tell from the photo whether it can be saved, and if so what steps should we take? Thanks for all advice.

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applestar
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Until someone else with more experience chimes in, my feeling is this will be OK.

I have several year old tea shrub in a pot - camellia chinensis var chinensis. It’s not hardy in my winter so I bring it inside, and no matter what, it loses all it’s leaves by spring. So I think it’s Ok for camellias to lose leaves over the winter and need some pruning in spring.

Once it starts growing again, give it some acidic fertilizer. I’m thinking holly tone or azalea food.

Vanisle_BC
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Thanks applestar, that's encouraging. I found the original label - It's Camellia-x-williamsii - Jury's yellow; supposedly hardy to -10 to -15C, so not sure what the problem has been. It's spring flowering but all the buds have died, so even if it recovers there will be no flowers this year :(.

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rainbowgardener
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It does look very sad, but has new growth shoots on it, so not dead.

I am also in zone 7 and have a camellia that I planted last spring. It has thrived and bloomed through the winter. So it shouldn't be the cold. But in my part of zone 7, we had a VERY wet year in 2018, including especially the last couple months. Camellias need a lot of water. They like the soil to stay damp (not soggy) most of the time. They benefit from a good layer of mulch and you should water deeply when you water. I always suggest watering the way you usually would and then dig down and see how far down the soil is moist. You may be surprised at how little you have really watered.

So yes, since you said it isn't getting direct sun, then I would think not enough water.

Mine gets direct morning sun but is in the shade all afternoon.

Vanisle_BC
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Thanks for your input, RBG. On closer inspection I do see new growth - good for you, seeing it in the photo. I'll take your advice to heart, about watering.

luis_pr
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Looks like one of my japonicas that failed to get water when the drip irrigation was turned off and this un-named individual then forgot to turn it back 'on'. Sigh..... Do plan on keeping the soil evenly moist thru the winter months if your soil does not freeze. Always, always provide 2-4" of mulch up to or beyond the drip line. This protects the thin fibrous small roots that camellias have near the top 4" from temperature extremes and reduces evaporation. Also, please water deeply the night before temps are scheduled to go down a lot, like to 25F or less. Helps prevent dehydration of the flower buds and helps protect them from flower bud drop.

Vanisle_BC
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Great helpful information here as always - thanks for the details, luis. I'll follow your advice.

HoneyBerry
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I have a Camelia that has grown from a small start planted years ago. It has white flowers. It is not my favorite shrub. The flowers are beautiful when they bloom but usually the buds form and then they die before they open due to cold nights. This plant also tends to get a black mildew on the leaves. I have to periodically wash the black stuff off. Sometimes I am too busy for this kind of plant maintenance. I am used to the issues that this plant has and I don't give the plant much attention. The plant seems to be thriving in spite of these issues. It is growing tall and I have to prune it back. One year there were some bugs on the bottoms of the leaves. I had to wash off those bugs and the black mildew too.
My Camelia does not tend to have browning leaves. I think that it is possible that your plant may have a disease. If you really want to keep this plant, I think it is worth looking into. I am not a Camelia expert. I just happen to have one of them in my yard.

Vanisle_BC
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For now I'm blaming our Camellia's woes mostly on the weather. It seemed to come through the winter well and had healthy buds, but we had some cold days with frosty nights interrupted by a week when we were sunbathing in the afternoons (25C) but having to use heating indoors by early evening. Then back to cool days with light frosts. Probably the plant went into summer mode too soon & got knocked back. I'm not used to plants that need much watching & protection in spring; guess I have to learn. Luckily it has small signs of new growth so all may not be lost.



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