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fablau

Camellia plenty of buds but doens't bloom!

fablau
14 years ago

Hello here,

I have a beautiful red Camellia that's plenty of buds but doesn't bloom: the buds just become dark after a while, then fall down. Any idea? Is that because of too much water? Too few? What else? Any thoughts are very welcome!

Thank you in advance.

Best,

Fabrizio

Comments (4)

  • luis_pr
    14 years ago

    Soil moisture can be a cause, Fabrizio but, I would have expected the problem to be no/little water instead of too much water. What makes you think that they are getting too much water? To check, insert a finger to a depth of 4" and see if it feels wet, moist, almost dry or dry. Then water when it feels almost dry or dry.

    Too much water needs to be corrected just as well as not enough water because too much moisture may eventually result in root rot (not only with camellias but many plants). The symptoms of root rot are the same as those of a plant that does not get enough water (simply because the roots are rotting and are unable to supply water to the plant above the ground).

    Where do you live? How has the weather been there lately? Camellias may also suffer from bud drop when the temperatures wildly fluctuate in the Fall and Spring. Now this should only be a problem that happens once in a while if the camellia variety is good in your zone. If this happens every year then you may want to create a micro climate that protects the plant from these weather related changes.

    Another alternative would be to switch to a variety that does not bloom at this time of the year when temperatures are going up and down so much.

    Finally, check some of the browned out buds that have not fallen to see if there are mites inside of them and take appropriate action.

    Luis

  • fablau
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you very much Luis, I live in south California pretty close to the ocean and I think that the problem is that I over watered them once (a couple of month ago). Now I am checking closely the soil moisture that at the touch seems ok ( also confirmed. By one of those electronic moisture checkers). Do you think that with the right watering schdul and amount the plant can be back to normal soon? Thank you again.

  • romantic_camelliaman
    14 years ago

    This problem is classic when one of the trace elements is missing. Check the ph. If it is too acid or too alkaline the trace elements may be locked up and the camellia cannot get them. You can also fertilize with a fertilizer containing "trace" elements. Many camellia growers apply a product called "keyplex" which is minor elements applied foliar.

  • jet_ny
    14 years ago

    Mine was like that too.Every year it starts budding in October and by February all the buds have dried out without opening. I haven't repotted it for a long time I thought maybe it was rootbound. I also did not fertilize thinking you should not fertilize or water so much during winter. Last winter I moved it from an east window location to a west one where it was brighter and also it was over the heater and most of the buds opened. I thought if I was more regular with my watering and fertilizing all of the buds would have opened instead of only half the number.

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