Sorry to hear that. Know that you are not the only though.

I have been looking for a way to tell a plant where to leaf out but they just keep doing it at their pace. I think you should just continue giving it TLC without going overboard with water and fertilizer. See what it does now and next Spring (yes, you may have to wait that long).

The only ways that I have used to induce growth is with the use of Blood Meal, which is high in nitrogen and with alfalfa meal, which has Triacontanol, a hormone that induces growth too. Have used them with roses but not with camellias.

Since they are fertilizers and your plant is stressed, consider using them later on in the growing season (wait a month maybe?). Stressed plants should not be fertilized.

Luis

Since your plant is a recent transplant and stressed, I would try the 'wait and watch' approach for a bit. Camellias grow pretty slowly, so you've got plenty of time to shape it to your preferences.

Once your new leaves are out, you'll be able to see if there's any dead wood that needs to be pruned away.

You will be getting those new leaves soon, and that should tell you what sort of shape the shub wants to take. If you prefer a shorter, rounder bush (as opposed to a tree form), you can encourage your camellia by pruning back any of its taller branches. The American Camellia Society has info on pruning at their web site, and a Google search will get more info if you like visuals...

Again, because your plant is a newcomer and stressed from the winter cold, I would keeping any shape-pruning to a minimum this year, but hopefully, next spring it will be nice and bloomy, and you'll want to prune for shape just after it stops flowering, before it sets its buds for next season.

I agree with Luis that fertilizer can be counter-productive for a stressed plant, but a little compost/organic matter might help the new foliage along.

Here is a link that might be useful: ACS info on pruning camellias

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I was wondering since natural fertilizer is recommended, how about dehydrated organic chicken manure?

I haven't used the dehydrated chicken manure, but understand that it's great for healthy foliage.

From what little I know, I think it's pretty high in nitrogen, so that's great for established and happy plants, but I would think something with low or no nitrogen might be better for a plant that's been so stressed.

As a general rule, flowering plants need less nitrogen than plants grown for their leaves (such as grass, foliage plants and leafy vegetables).

If your new camellia is trying to get its root system established under stressful conditions, giving it nitrogen can be counter-productive since it redirects the focus from the roots (and flowers if the plant isn't too stressed) to leaves.

If you don't have good compost, consider a liquid seaweed or a slow-release (low-nitrogen) organic fertilizer like Holly-tone. Cottonseed meal is also slow-release, and camellia-appropriate.

Since I posted my camellia concerns on May 8th, today I inspected the ones of which I have the greatest concern. To my delight and surprise, there's small green new growth showing. The growth is on April Tyrst and Tom Knudsen (two of my favorites). I never would have thought as late as May 14th I would finally see new growth. They were looking sooo dead. Patience does pay off.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Since I posted my camellia concerns on May 8th, today I inspected the ones of which I have the greatest concern. To my delight and surprise, there's small green new growth showing. The growth is on April Tyrst and Tom Knudsen (two of my favorites). I never would have thought as late as May 14th I would finally see new growth. They were looking sooo dead. Patience does pay off.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

@ momof2labs, I'm so glad your patience was rewarded. When camellias get zapped with cold, they can take their time with refoliating.

Just out of curiosity, did you lose any of the other plants? If so, do you know which varieties they were?

I lost 10 of the 30 April Dawn and April Rose I planted last spring 2013. The remaining living ones are finally getting new leaves, but one word of caution for those buying the winter hardy cams: It's highly recommended to use Wilt Pruf to protect the leaves from the harsh winters, and also plant on north side of house away from direct winter sun and winds. Wish I'd known about the Wilt Pruf BEFORE the winter, but fortunately most survived. As for fertilizer, Hollytone is recommended for cams and is organic. I fertilized them in spring. Does anyone know how fast the April series grows? I'm hoping to create a hedge sooner than later. Thanks!