Bud Drop? Lorraine Summers Shares 3 Reasons Your Camellia Buds Are Not Flowering

SHRUBS > CAMELLIA > DROPPING-BUDS

Camellia blooms come in a range of different hues and the beautiful flowers of these evergreen shrubs are one of the main reasons to grow them.

Therefore it can be very disappointing if, before buds open, they turn brown or drop off.

“I often get asked why camellias are failing to flower,” says Lorraine Summers, Owner of specialist Camellia growers Trehane Nursery.

“Most times, this is down to the plants not having enough water during the summer months, which is when camellias are making their flower buds.

“It can also be because the plant has not received enough light to set the buds.”

With that in mind, Camellia buds turning brown or dropping off before they open is usually caused by:

1. An inadequate supply of water during late summer of the previous year.
2. Excessive or late feeding of camellia shrubs.
3. Low winter temperatures causing damage to more tender varieties.
4. A lack of exposure to light, which helps set the buds.

We discuss each of these issues with more background information below.

1) Water Shortage

Camellia buds start to form during late summer.

Sometimes adverse environmental conditions during this earlier period of bud formation, or during the early spring, can cause them to abort and drop off prematurely.

Dry soil is most commonly to blame, so it is important to make sure that you water well if the weather is dry, as Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly shares:

“In the UK, low winter temperatures would historically have presented the greatest risk of bud drop, but summer drought has taken over in much of the country as a more likely occurrence.

“I try to ensure that irrigation is available if needed for existing plants and that new plants are located where the soil does not routinely dry out in summer.”

Remember, you will usually need to water your camellia more if you are growing it in a container compared with when you are growing these shrubs in the ground.

2) Excessive Or Late Feeding

Another problem that can cause buds on camellias to turn brown or drop off is excessive or late feeding.

Do not feed any camellias, even those growing in pots, after the end of July.

Also, remember that camellias growing in a reasonably fertile soil should not need additional feeding at all – and should instead be provided with just an organic mulch around the plant each spring.

3) Low Winter Temperatures

Not all camellias are hardy enough to withstand winter temperatures and conditions in the UK.

So, when growing camellias, it is important to know how hardy the variety you are growing is – and to make sure that it is placed in an appropriate position.

A plant affected by frost might have bud drop that looks something like this:

Some types can suffer leaf damage due to frosts or drying winds in the winter months, and the buds can also turn brown and drop off with more sensitive cultivars during excessive cold.

If you are growing a somewhat less hardy cultivar, move it to a sheltered position or protect it with horticultural fleece to ensure it makes it through the winter with the buds intact.

A number of environmental issues can cause buds to fail to form altogether or cause them to turn brown and fall off, but the above are the most common causes and each is a fairly easy problem to avoid.

Position your camellia correctly in the first place, and provide it with the right care, and you should find that it blooms reliably year after year.