Gibbing -- Is this still done, and when, for Victoria BC area? I have a large older camellia which came with the townhouse, and it is located in a non-sunny area fairly close to the east-north-east building wall which is also shaded by tall evergreen trees. 1, This particular shrub formed lots of buds which simply did not break into bloom. No bloom at all, but lots of buds. The landscaper for the complex says "treating with a hormone used for berry production -- such as blueberries -- may force it to bloom". Does he mean gibberellic acid? I shall ask him, but in the meantime I'm checking with this forum. 2, Another camellia in a slightly more northern spot on the property near the townhouse gets dappled sun from the mid-day-to end of day from the west, blooms normally, and has plenty of buds even now in early January although pruned quite strongly last summer. 3, A third small one has been rescued from crowding by nearby miscellaneous shrubs and plants but so far is only bringing out one or two bloom buds [it is small but healthily growing], a similar position light-wise as the second one. I would like to know if any of this forum's users are using this method and what time of the year [I would assume soon] is the correct time to attempt this. I have an article from the Web recommending only treating 20% of the bloom buds at once, and how to do it [i.e. removing adjacent vegetative bud and dropping the solution into the remaining cup and so on...] Also, is there another treatment to use to bring the reluctant bloomer with buds into bloom? Thanks...
Need to figure out why they are not opening. Might they have gotten frosted? I'd think most methods involving a chemical treatment would be to promote setting of flower buds rather than getting existing buds to open - what is it about the method that you are describing here that makes buds that aren't going to open otherwise develop into flowers? Does the discussion mention why such buds weren't going to open?
I wish I knew. I opened one last year and there was a brownish centre but it was late in the summer, I think... one of my websites or books suggests a fungus infection in shady or moist areas, but there are lots of those in this area. I will try an anti-fungal treatment to soil and to plant. I was curious about this gibberellic acid, which is mentioned in all the books on camellias and various websites, but doesn't really speak to the time of year for doing this to Pacific Northwest camellias. I am not sure when it is supposed to bloom. I saw somewhere that some camellia bushes mysteriously just will not open their buds [no explanation]. I don't think it's cold weather damage, although it's possible -- the shrub looks lush and healthy and we have not had an excessively cold winter in Saanich [I did prune out old wood quite radically last midsummer, to see if it would help, and the shrub still looks healthy]. It's not a problem with the other two. It could be the general lack of sun.
Don't do anything else without a pretty clear idea of what you are dealing with. Pruning out part of the shrub would have no effect on flower bud set for instance - a camellia is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with a treelike habit - and is not a cane-stem deciduous shrub that might become senescent and twiggy in parts and be encouraged to produce additional, more productive younger wood by having older, twiggy pieces cleared out. You might even be dealing with something like a micronutrient deficiency. Definitely do not apply fungicides or other chemicals without getting the problem nailed down and finding out that specific chemical treatments are recommended for it. If you have an agency like our Cooperative Extension down here or another trusted, informed source take samples of the affected buds to them for guidance.
