I am not sure this is the correct forum for this topic, but I am wondering if anyone has used a growth hormone treatment on the budding tips of camellias in order to force the larger end bud to bloom... I have just been told by a local gardening suppler that Gibberellic acid (also called Gibberellin A3, GA, and GA3) is available in Canada for agricultural purposes at a high cost for a small quantity, but not on a retail basis. I have one camellia bush, a large old one, which is producing buds but not blooms, they seldom break into bloom in spring -- and I have read that the smaller buds can be broken off and the larger one thus forced to develop into bloom... could I have some advice on this? At the moment, after having been rather severely pruned to take it away from roof eavestroughs, it is producing many buds, some in large clusters, and I am wondering about nipping off the smaller ones in the bud clusters and leaving the largest one... I have also read that putting a drop of Gibberellic acid on the empty bud-cups in this process helps the remaining large bud to bloom as a flower... This particular plant is largely in shade but does get a bit of both morning and earlier afternoon sun at the top... I would be willing to experiment on this shrub as it has not bloomed much since we moved into "its" home, and I also am awaiting some bloom on another smaller now bud-setting camellia which looks promising but did not have quite the same problem, and the smaller one is in more sunlight. These are not sasanqua camellias.
I am again refreshing this post to discuss how to encourage this camellia to actually bloom, from the clusters of eager buds forming at branch ends. This older camellia was sharply trimmed this past late summer/early fall to remove tops from the eavestrough area and to remove lower branches covering the gas meter... it is sort of hollowed-out now, and it has responded by setting numerous clusters of buds on branch and branchlet tips. So many that I'd like to have advice re removing some of the surrounding budlets to let the main bud form as bloom, as I have read one should do, and/or using this ghibelleric acid which apparently I can't buy retail because it is only used by wholesale growers... The plant is near the slab foundation but out far enough from under the roof overhang to get some sun and water from nature, but it is in a generally shaded location from the house, except in early morning and for the top, which is tall enough to pick up some rays from the sun as it appears further southwest as the day progresses... it is not a sasanqua camellia. Bloom is pink [oh, one or two buds actually formed blooms in the recent past] and the double flower opens to reveal the golden stamens... i.e. it's not a frilly double but has an open type of double bloom... I understand that camellias can be troublesome. How come I see some in old neglected gardens that are magnificent?
okay, I'm answering my own question -- after a web search I found that often one does have to de-bud at branch and branchlet ends, retaining the fattest bud for a bloom... I will try it [again] and see what happens this spring...
