Keep Camellias Blooming - A Guide To Preventing Bud Drop

words and images by Lynsey Hughes

MY last house came flanked with a divinely tall, mature Camellia japonica specimen which thrived in the shade of a two-storey neighbour and produced a stunning carpet of candy- pink blooms each winter. All this buddy love without a single scrap of attention from moi!

Opening Bud Stage 1

Bud Opening Stage 2

Bud Opening Stage 3

Fast-forward to my current abode and you’ll see me hovering, gloved-fingers crossed, over a stubby, shrubby as-yet-unidentified Camellia, waiting for the first tight bud to reveal her winter petals.

Last year I was bitterly disappointed in this little woody shrub, which survives on the edge of a bed filled with tree stumps; the remnants of shade long gone, and no doubt a contributing factor in the pathological rate of bud-drop we experienced last winter.

Bud failing to open

It started out with such promise, too. Branches from top to bottom, were laden with scores of tiny green orbs which developed long enough for a small burst of pink hue to peep through only to drop to the ground or stagnate on a branch until brown and crisp. Aghast, I consulted gardening friends, the internet and pored over countless reference books to find a clear answer to the rather common problem of Camellia bud-drop, also called bud-balling.

It seems the causes are largely unknown, but a few common themes appear: lack of water, too much water, too much sun, too many buds, incorrect soil pH levels and the plain ol’ fact that some types, like formal doubles, are just more susceptible. Among the practical tips gathered (see below), all except number three were carried out last Spring. It’s been a slow drum roll so far, but it’s almost showtime. My bud clusters are looking plump, green and encouragingly healthy. A couple have burst their barriers, but only time will tell if we’ll be rewarded with a much-wished for explosion of blooms.

Six Tips To Combat Camellia Bud-drop

1. Pinch out buds by one-third in Spring. Over-production of buds can dilute plant resources, resulting in no beautiful singles, doubles or anemones unfurling. Best to reduce the number of buds at the early stage to ensure the lucky survivors receive adequate nutrients.

2. Ensure soil never dries out. Buds need coaxing with an adequate supply of water to see them flower. Maintain constant moisture during Summer while buds are developing. During the flowering season, heavily budded plants should be soaked well and often - once a week, especially if rainfall is low.

3. Provide enough shade. Avoid direct early morning sun in Winter to prevent dewy buds from burning and perishing. Remember, most Camellias hail from a woodland environment. 

4. Prune dead wood and any crossing branches that restrict internal air flow. It’s basic shrub management to stop pests and disease taking hold. Remove spent flower heads at the end of each season.

5. Ensure soil pH is slightly acidic, between 5.5 and 6.5, by using a soil testing kit. Lower pH with applications of ammonium sulphate, commonly found in specialty Camellia fertilisers. Throughout the year, sprinkle used tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) at the base to provide a boost of tannic acid. Or better yet feed with a Camellia and Azalea fertiliser for the best results. We have a range available at Four Seasons Nursery

6. Mulch with old compost in Spring to keep roots cool and well fed. 

Tea leaves are harvested from the Camellia sinensis, 

 and can be fed to your growing camellia.

Fast Facts

NAMED after amateur botanist and Moravian Jesuit Priest, George Kamel, who surprisingly never laid eyes on the species, Camellias grow wild in Japan, parts of China, the Himalayas and Indo-China.

Commonly cultivated in the West as ornamental shrubs and trees, it was the tea variety, Camellia sinensis that was first taken from China by the British to colonial India over 200 years ago.

They love cool, moist roots and slightly acid soil. The darker the flower, the more sun it can handle, especially the `ideal for hedging’ sasanqua varieties. 

  



Happy Planting

Lynsey

Grow UP, mate!

Sometimes I imagine people coming up to me and saying “Mike, your  blogs are the best thing about the internet, but I live in an apartment! I wish I had the space to grow more plants, my life is so boring without a garden. Maybe I’ll just go buy some Astroturf and roll that out everywhere.” At which point I start screaming and sweating and, depending on where I am, drawing terrified looks from strangers or exhausted headshakes from my family.

But good news friends, imaginary or otherwise! This week we are talking about Vertical Gardens, the answer to all your urban prayers!

So what’s a Vertical Garden then? Well there are a few variations on the theme but essentially it’s a framework or supportive structure that you fix to a wall, which supports bags or pots of soil you can grow plants in. They work well in any location, but have become extremely popular with balcony owners for the obvious space-saving reasons.

The staff at Four Seasons Nursery have been installing these for a while now, in residential, commercial and institutional settings. We’ve set them up in everything from a full sun backyard to inside a library, using succulents, climbers, annuals, even edible herbs. To call us experts would be an insult; we’re way beyond that now. We’ve even got an information page on our website, and if that’s not proof enough for you then nothing is: http://www.fourseasonsnursery.com.au/node/108

Now to be the best you have to use the best, assuming what you’re best at requires the use of a thing. Vertical Gardening does, it requires Vertical Gardens, and we use products from these upstanding citizens:

• Wall Garden - A modular pot/trough system that is ridiculously easy to install and maintain. They’ve got a nice little demo video here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=smu3KKD5KdY]

And an instillation guide here:

• Atlantis - A grid-based modular system that can go as high and as wide as your surroundings will allow. Check out the team at Atlantis setting up a monster (with a funky Latino backing track, nice!) here:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FNjf0VqHXWo]

If you’re not sure which system is best for you, or if you’d like some extra information, come in and see us anytime. We’ve always got plenty of stock and can sort you out with the right system for you, plus all the plants and soil you need. Too easy.

Cheers,

Mike.

The trick to trimming part 1: branches.

Apparently summer’s decided that going out gracefully is for cowards, and is throwing all kinds of tantrums in these final weeks of its reign. We’re getting record-breaking heat one day and frigid winds the next, a week of constant drizzle followed by seven days of perfect sunshine.

It’s actually pretty good growing weather for the young ones; the heavy rain gets the water deep down around the roots, then the hot sun draws the water up before it can cause rot or fungal issues (plus it has something to do with the whole photosynthesis bit I believe).

What it’s not so good for is the older growth, particularly on trees. Any branch that was even the tiniest bit brittle has now turned to fine bone china, due to the bouncing temperature and moisture levels. The next decent gust of wind is going to rip this weaker wood clean off the trunk, and anything it can’t tear off the tree will probably abandon on its own (do the Google for “Summer Branch Drop”; pretty interesting). This is almost always bad news, and so a pre-emptive strike during weather like this is a mighty fine idea. Just as a stitch in time saves nine, so a well timed trim will keep your damage bill thin! That is awful, and I’m sorry.

Anyway the first thing I have to say about trimming tree branches is that if you can’t reach it from the ground with the tools you have then call an arborist. Ladders leaning on branches are ridiculously dangerous. As is climbing a tree with some sort of blade in your hands. Leave this stuff to those who are insured for it.

The next thing I have to say is less condescending and extremely interesting; trees DON’T heal. At all. If a tree takes damage it is there forever, whether you can see it or not. What they do do is “occlude”, which basically means “cover up”. They will grow new tissue over the old wound, making it almost impossible to tell whether or not there is infection in it. A broken branch in 2002 can mean a dead tree in 2013, and few will be able to tell why.

Interesting Mike, yes. But so what?

Well, cheeky, you need to bare this in mind when trimming back dead or dying branches, as what you do now could end up having serious consequences down the track. Cleanliness is the key, for both your tools and how you use them.

Any organic residue on the teeth or blade of your tools can carry bacteria, and as you cut into a branch you’re basically poisoning the tree. Get into the habit of cleaning your tools after using them; a quick wipe, sharpen and dab of oil will not only keep the plants you use them on healthy, it will prolong the life of your tools as well. If you haven’t been doing this, and your tools now look like roman relics, come see us at Four Seasons Nursery; we have an excellent range for sale, for all kinds of budgets.

Now you’ve got clean tools you need to make clean cuts. A straight, square cut, on a slight downward angle, will keep the wound dry and minimise its surface area. This makes it extremely difficult for any harmful bacteria to get a foothold, so when the wound is occluded the tree won’t be absorbing its own doom. In terms of where to make the cut, well that depends on how much of the branch is damaged or dying. Normally though you’ll be taking it right back to the trunk, but remember to leave a good few centimetres of branch there so you don’t accidently graze the trunk when cutting (thus opening more door for infections to move in).

If you’ve got a tree with some branches you are unsure about, feel free to bring some photos into us here at the Nursery; we’ll have a look and make the best recommendations we can.

Cheers,

Mike.

Grow Like a Pro no. 2: Lavender.

It’s been so long since we did one of these that a skeptic might think the ‘series’ had been forgotten. Shame on you skeptic; we don’t forget things, we were just giving you enough time to get your orchids into good shape. Now that they’re all green and budding and bursting from their pots it’s time to leave them be (they thrive on neglect, remember). Let’s turn our attention this week to one of my all time favourites; Lavender.

Lavender (‘Lavandula’ botanically) is one of Mint’s many cousins, and has 39 different species within its genus. By far the most common are Lavandula dentata (French/Italian Lavender) and Lavandula augustifolia (English Lavender); you rarely see any of the others growing around Sydney.

Popular with aromatherapists and naturopaths, Lavender’s medicinal potential is (extremely) old news; the ancient Greeks knew of its calming properties, and it was used extensively in hospitals during World War 1. Its flower spikes are incredibly versatile; they’re used in dried flower arrangements and potpourris, teas, baked goods, as cake decorations, even (apparently) as a substitute for confetti at weddings. Apiarists will tell you that the honey made by bees fed on Lavender nectar is some of the best in the world, and it sells for king’s ransom in Europe.

But forget all this – unless you’ve got a several-acre backyard you won’t be growing lavender for its skills. You’ll be after its outrageous good looks.

Lavender flowers like crazy almost all year round; soft purple spires rising from a mass of delicate grey foliage. It smells as good as it looks too, and it’s a sure-fire way to bring in the birds and bees (literally; this is a family blog).

So how do you grow it? There are really only two main things to consider; drainage and pruning.

Lavenders like a drink but their roots love to rot; if you’ve got even a trace of clay in your Lavender bed they’re done for. If planting them in the ground it’s best to dig down about 600-700 millimetres, then spread a layer of sand about 100 millimetres deep. Backfill the rest of the hole with really free-draining soil mix, loaded with organic matter. Four Seasons Nursery has all the sand and soil you’ll need, in bulk and in bags. We can also help you out if your garden bed is nothing but clay, with a variety of soil conditioners and a heap of smiley advice-giving staff to talk you through it.

Aside from moisture the only other way a Lavender will spoil is if it is left alone for too long. They are the polar opposites to orchids; they need attention, frequently, in the form of a stylish haircut. Trimming your Lavender by up to about a third of its size every few months will stop it from developing the gnarly wooden ‘trunks’ they get, and keep it a nice dense bush with scores of flowers. Once they go woody there’s no going back; they’ll never be as dense and there will never be as many flowers. It’s pretty much a write-off at this point, which is sad and expensive. So keep your shears sharp, clean and close, maybe under your pillow, so you never forget. Your Lavender will thank you and you’ll have a perfect excuse to get a new pillow every couple of weeks. How good are fresh pillows! Very good.

And that’s pretty much it. Keep them in your sunniest  spot, keep them well fed, and keep an eye out for the usual suspects; aphids, mealy bug and co (though Lavenders have pretty good pest-resistant levels). Plant them in groups of at least 5 for best effect; the more the merrier with Lavender. We at Four Seasons Nursery have scores of them for sale, in different sizes and cultivars. Come choose a few today!

Cheers,

Mike.

Don’t fight it, hide it!

There’s an old saying from Poland that, roughly translated, warns: “a guest sees more in an hour than the host in a year”. Now if you’re anything like me you would have zoned out after the words ‘old saying’, but seeing as it’s barbeque season this one might be worth paying attention to.

Let’s say it’s your turn to host this coming weekend. You’re famous for your skills with a set of tongs, and your partner’s a master at diffusing awkward silences. Everything’s going to be perfect; everyone’s going to be smiling, laughing, having the best time of their whole entire lives.

Pump your breaks my friend - before you go and order a ‘Host with the Most’ t-shirt with your face on it, maybe you should settle into one of the guest’s chairs and have a look around. Chances are you’ll see some things you normally wouldn’t have noticed; a mass of weeds bursting from a cracked paver, or a neglected courtyard corner filled with cobwebs and dog hair. These are the things the Polish of old were talking about, and these things will ruin everything.

We need to do something, but there’s no time for anything serious; it’s back to work tomorrow, and besides, your wallet is still recovering from Christmas. We need a quick fix, and a cost-effective one too.

We need a pot.

The art of hiding a tricky spot with a pot plant is one landscapers have been practicing for ever; it’s quick, easy, cheap, and if done properly looks fantastic. There are a couple of points you need to consider;

1. Size; make sure the pot will suit the spot, and that the plant you are sticking in it won’t be too small or grow to be too large.


2. Colour; look at the surrounding walls, floors and features, then work with what’s already there. Choosing a pot for ‘contrast’ is extremely difficult; far better to work with the existing theme.


3. Weight; especially important if you’re putting it on a balcony. We have many lightweight options for such situations.


4. Water; pots dry out. Fast. If it’s a sunny spot you should choose a drought-tolerant plant, and then spice up your potting mix with some water crystals.

The range of pots we have at Four Seasons Nursery is insane. All manner of size, shape and style is represented in our giant Pot Court, plus there are a whole host more available by order through our website - http://www.fourseasonsnursery.com.au/pots.html

We’ve also got a heap of potting mixes, water crystals, mulch and gravel in store, plus a whole host of pot-suitable plants to fit with any style of garden. Our staff are always more than happy to help you choose, plus we can deliver to anywhere in Sydney. Why not take a photo of your trouble-spot and bring it in? It saves time and ensures you’ll leave with the perfect pot.

Come see us anytime!

Cheers,

Mike.

A real summer!

We are right in the thick of summer now, and so far it’s actually behaving like a summer, which (aside from blowing everyone’s minds) is generating a rate of growth in the garden we haven’t seen for ages. The mornings are hot and the evenings are cool, giving your plants all the energy they need without burning their delicate new growth. Plus every other evening we’re getting some healthy summer rain, occasionally a storm. Here’s a fun fact about thunderstorms; lightning infuses the falling water with extra nitrogen, making it like steroids for leaves. Keep an eye on your new foliage in the days after a decent storm, you’ll notice the difference.

So anyway with the summer comes summer holidays; most of us have a couple of weeks off now, while school kids and uni students seem to have several years. What a perfect opportunity for everyone to get their hands dirty! You’ll see the results of your hard work growing almost instantly, plus gardening is a great way to work off the inevitable Christmas bloating. If you’re looking for ideas then come see us at Four Seasons Nursery anytime, we’ll be here every day. Holidays aren’t really our thing - our workplace is a giant garden, why would we leave?

When you do swing by make sure you check out our new Homewares and Gifts section; loads of way-past-last-minute Christmas gift ideas, beautifully displayed in air-conditioned bliss. Here’s a sample-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plenty more in store!

Cheers,

Mike.

Purple- Autumn’s other colour.

The Autumn Show is in full swing this week, and with the air temperature cooling and the sun setting around six it’s the perfect time of year for after-work walking. You’ll see Pears and Maples blushing blood red, Liquidambars ablaze in shades of crimson and gold. But as the deciduous shrubs and trees all do their bit, flushed from competing for your “oohs” and “aahs”, another contender steps up in a brilliant cloak of purple to steal the show- the Tibouchina.

Originating from South America and comprising of more than 350 different species, the genus Tibouchina (“ti-boo-chee-nah”) is famous for its flowers: rich and vibrant shades of purple and pink, with clusters of claw-like stamens jutting out from the centre. They open en masse from March through to May, creating a truly eye-catching display that dramatically complements a garden’s autumn foliage.

There is considerable variation in size between the most commonly available cultivars, allowing you to choose the perfect Tibouchina for your garden, in spite of any height or width restrictions.  Tibouchina “Alstonville” will grow into a six metre high tree, as will the “Kathleen” variety, whose flowers are a delicate shade of pink. Tibouchina “Jules” is a small shrub, growing roughly one metre high and one metre wide, while the fairly new cultivar “Groovy Baby” is even smaller.

Tibouchinas thrive in a neutral to slightly acidic soil. They love the full sun, and will grow quickest when in an open, warm spot, with excellent drought-tolerance once established. They require very little maintenance and are highly resistant to pests and diseases, though frosts are to be avoided.

Four Seasons Nursery has a great range of the above-mentioned Tibouchinas in stock now, all covered in buds and looking for a new home. They, and we, hope to see you soon!

-Mike P.