hi all, i have got a problem

Hi to all,

Can any one help with my problem please?
ok, I have a plant that belonged to my mum(god bless her)and when I brought it to my house the first year did ok , but last year or this year should I say its gone down hill, I no my mum used to feed it but don�t now how often so I have bought some feed for it and feed it according to the instructions, now what has happened to it this year when it was in bud it started of budding nicely then it went down hill the flowers all started to go yellowy and shrivel then the buds that had not opened did the same, its in a bigish tub that for me to no has not had any soil change, the only different thing that I have done is made a planter for it that it about 6 inches taller than the tube, any help is much appreciated as I would not like to lose the only thing living that my mum had.

The plant/shrub is a camellia

An old gentleman next door said put some Epsom salts in it, he did not say how much and when so I don�t really no

 

I am no expert but I have read somewhere that camellias should not be watered with tap water, but rain water. Also they shouldn't catch the early morning sun as this can make the flowers drop? As I say I'm no expert!! Maybe this helps.
If its in the same compost (which should be ericaceous) that shouldn't be the problem.

 

Hello billrobo and welcome to GC.

I lived in Alabama for 14 years where Camellias grow almost wild. The earth there is poor but they get lots of rain and lots of heat ... very humid. I would agree rain water is best for them.

I am no expert here and having difficulty with Hibiscus, the tropical one with shiney leaves which grow wild here and live on our poor red clay earth and little rain ... so I am really not one to give you advice ... :eek:

What I do know is that such like plants do not like hot sun on them in the mornings when they have dew on them. It totally throws their sysems off balance ... must all be female plants I guess.

PS I disagree with the the ericaceous soil as in Alabama (and South Carolina where I also lived) and here in Algarve, we have red clay and these plants are native to these three places. :confused:

 

Hi Billrobo, I bought a camelia this year and reading up on them before purchasing I found that some prefer a particular aspect for example east facing not west facing for best results. I don't know about the flowering part yet but it has put on a lot of new growth this year and looks very healthy even though the soil it is in is quite poor.