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Epsom Salts for yellow leaves on Camellia

jra505jra505 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hello,

I've got a camellia in my garden in Hemel Hempstead which I moved 18 months ago from our previous garden in Watford. Ever since we moved it, it has really struggled - the leaves are very yellow and it has never flowered.

I recently read that camellia's don't like alkaline soil - I tried the quick and dirty method to determine what sort of soil we have, and it fizzed (but only a little) when I added vinegar to it. I've also read that spraying the leaves with a solution of Epsom salts and pouring the same solution onto the ground near the base of the plant can help. My question is - how long would it take to see the benefits from this, if it is going to work? 

Thanks,

jra505 

Posts

  • autumngloryautumnglory Posts: 255
    I tried this with a yellow skimmia and it had no effect. It's supposed to work better as a spray on the leaves but I've tried both methods and neither worked at all! 

    I'm taking mine out this year if it doesn't improve.
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  • jra505jra505 Posts: 4
    I didn't put the vinegar in the ground, I scooped up some soil and put it in a cup and then poured the vinegar into that.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,161
    That's no way to test soil!   You need a cheap kit and distilled water.

    Camellias need lots of moisture between July and December to help flower buds form.  Too dry and they fail to grow and/or drop as the plant sacrifices flowers to save energy.  Feeding with liquid tomato feed will help flower formation too.

    Mulching round the roots with ericaceous compost after a good rain will help too.  Epsom salts provide magnesium - 15ml salts to 5 litres of water used as a foliar spray - but you need iron too so sequestered iron in a liquid feed or Miracid if you're not organic will help correct iron deficiency.  Never use tap water of it's hard.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • jra505jra505 Posts: 4
    Obelixx said:
    That's no way to test soil!   You need a cheap kit and distilled water.

    Camellias need lots of moisture between July and December to help flower buds form.  Too dry and they fail to grow and/or drop as the plant sacrifices flowers to save energy.  Feeding with liquid tomato feed will help flower formation too.

    Mulching round the roots with ericaceous compost after a good rain will help too.  Epsom salts provide magnesium - 15ml salts to 5 litres of water used as a foliar spray - but you need iron too so sequestered iron in a liquid feed or Miracid if you're not organic will help correct iron deficiency.  Never use tap water of it's hard.

    I did say it was quick and dirty!

    So, if I use Epsom salts to provide the magnesium, and also use sequestered iron, how long should it take before I start to see an improvement in the plant?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,161
    edited April 2018
    Quick and pointless more like.   

    A lot depends on the weather - temps, sunlight, rain levels etc - as well as how sick your plant is from lack of magnesium and iron.  Could be a few weeks.  Could be the whole growing season or even until next spring.

    Patience is an essential gardening virtue.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • jra505jra505 Posts: 4
    Obelixx said:
    Quick and pointless more like.   

    A lot depends on the weather - temps, sunlight, rain levels etc - as well as how sick your plant is from lack of magnesium and iron.  Could be a few weeks.  Could be the whole growing season or even until next spring.

    Patience is an essential gardening virtue.



    Oh well, some people seem to think it has some virtue:

    https://preparednessmama.com/testing-your-soil-ph-without-a-kit/
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,161
    I suggest you compare the trivial cost of a simple but accurate soil test kit from the garden centre against the cost of replacing precious plants if you get it wrong doing a bodge job.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    @autumnglory the yellow leaves on your skimmia might not be due to soil ph. I've got one doing the same and after a bit of googling discovered that strong sunshine can make them go yellow.

    I'm going to try moving mine to a shadier spot to see if that makes a difference. My soil is acid/neutral.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,341
    As said above, the flowers on camellias form the previous season and if at that time the plant is too dry the buds wont form properly. You'll usually just get small brown buds that eventually drop off in the spring.
    If the plant is facing the early morning sun after a severe spring frost can also cause bud drop.

    Also as said above, sequestered iron with magnesium and manganese will likely do the trick to correct the imbalance that is causing yellowing leaves

    If you want to get an idea of your soil type enter your postcode and it'll give you a summary  - Cranfield University
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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