Solved This is a rose bush.... Right?

I might be going insane.

Last year I half heartedly planted 3 Precious rose bushes in my garden. I think.

I've had to move them as they were just not looking good and didn't flower last year at all well.

So two of them I'm confident over but this is a rose plant isn't it?

It's currently 67cm tall. I think I was supposed to cut it back to 15cm tall in the "spring". Too late to do anything now?

 

Looks like a Bay Laurel to us ... ?

Any thorns on the stem, hard to be sure from the pic, a close up of a leaf may make it easier to identify.

 

Here are some leaves.
No thorns on stem which is what got me questioning my assumption that it was the third rose bush.

I definitely don't remember planting a Bay Laurel...

 

I think it's my "missing" Camellia japonica

 

Looks a tad yellow - are you on an acid soil? (Are there Rhododendron and Azaleas growing in peoples gardens around you?)

 

Sadly as I thought it was a rose bush it didn't get the treatment my rhododendron, Azalea and Pieris got earlier in April.

I've fixed that now by applying some special feed and compost to the plant. Let's hope it helps!

 

The leaves appear serrated, thick, alternately arranged, glossy, like a camellia sasanqua leaf but larger so, I agree too, not a rose. A camellia japonica.

The yellowing or bronzing of the leaves in winter happened to me when the deciduous trees that normally provide shade have not leafed out yet and the longer sun exposure in early Spring caused the leaves to temporarily change color. Assuming this planting location gets afternoon & evening shade later on, the leaves should turn a darker green on their own. But oops, I have a White By The Gate Camellia Japonica that had to be transplanted, as my original planting site had too much sun during the summer months.

If the leaf veins were to remain green while the rest of the leaf turns yellow, I would check the soil pH to see if it needs to be amended with garden sulfur, organic compost or iron-chelated liquid compounds sold at most local plant nurseries. I tend to give my camellias a layer of organic compost and it helps control leaf yellowing problems with my alkaline soil. But if I am out of compost, I give them garden sulfur.

Unless it had flower bud drop due to lack of water issues or very cold temperatures, a japonica would bloom starting some time from December thru early April, although there are a handful of very early flowering ones that can bloom earlier.

I did not see any flower buds in the pictures so I assume it has bloomed already. Maintain mulch year around as the roots are in the top 10cms (more or less) so they can dry out quickly if it is windy or too sunny.

Post again when it blooms!

 

If your soil isn't acid I'll be very surprised if that works for you, I've never seen those sorts of plants grown healthily on Alkaline soil. But your soil may be borderline for pH in which case that would make the treatment viable. I'd recommend a soil test (the little test tube ones work well enough, don't get a pH meter) to see what you are up against

 

They can grow fine but you have to amend. They tolerate my soil pH of 7.6 and my watering with local alkaline water. But in Spring, I amend the soil with a layer of organic compost or I amend with garden sulfur. Question for anyone... I was just wondering now... are plant nurseries open in the UK (they are here) or are they closed... considered non-essential because of the virus?

 

I am still doubtful that it is worth attempting to grow Acid loving plants in Alkaline soil in the UK

Clay soils will require huge amounts of acidifying material and anyone on chalk or limestone will be a complete non starter. A lot of gardens in UK fall into that category. The acid-lover beds that I have seen, on Alkaline soils, haven't looked healthy (half a dozen years in), even if "surviving".

Obviously the closer the pH is to 7 the easier it will be to treat them.

For anyone on Alkaline soil who wants Rhododendrons get some on Inkarho rootstock, as they are lime tolerant. But no similar solution for Azaleas, Camellias, Pieris and the rest of the desirable acid lovers

Mostly closed AFAIK, although mail-order still available. Mine delivered something that I wanted ... but I have no idea if other folk around here are aware that they are offering that service, I emailed them on the off chance asking if they could leave the plants that I wanted "by the gate" and was pleasantly surprised to get a "We'll deliver them" reply .

Seed companies have a queuing system for their websites, because of the huge number of people trying to buy (apparently ... but I think more likely they are throttling orders for what a reduced workforce can pack-and-dispatch)

 

Thank you for all your (amazing!) replies.

Now I know what it is, I can think a bit more about what to do with it. It's current position is possibly "too sunny" - and in any case it did not flower over last winter at all.

I might move it into a pot where I can more carefully control the conditions?

 

You can pot it and control sunlight better but, be aware that camellias in pots require watering, fertilizing and acidifying more often. It is not difficult but it is different than if you were growing it in the ground. For example, to know when to water, make a habit to check the potting mix often: insert a finger into the potting mix to see if the soil feels moist or dry.

I actually did both things for one camellia! Meaning, I first grew it in a pot for 1 year and then grew it on the ground afterwards. I bought it in autumn and I left the camellia on the plastic pot that I purchased it in... because I was not sure if it was going to get too much sun in the summer in that location. As we got close to the Summer Solstice, I noticed that the sun was straight overhead and, while the camellia was still shaded, the sun was probably going to hit the camellia in later years as the plant got much bigger and wider. So, I tweaked the location a little and planted it in October-November.