My Camellias

[237SJ]

I bought a couple of beautiful camellias the other day , dumped them on the patio and went off to work for 4 days. When I came home, one of them had dropped lots of petals and even a bud that had just started to flower. I heard it was a nice day on Monday (wasn't here). Could it have got too much sun? I see plenty of camellias in peoples' gardens and they get plenty of sun as well so I can't understand what happened.

[woofgang]

Lots of possible reasons. Plants grown for sale, especially those grown for sale in flower, are grown in absolutely ideal conditions. Sometimes the transition to the real world can shock the plant, especially if the retailer (or purchaser!) hasn’t handled them carefully. They do need some basic care when you bring them home, check if the soil in the pot is moist and put in a sheltered position for a few days. It may have been that they got more sun that they were used but this usually results in leaf burn or curl rather than bud drop.

[237SJ]

Thanks for the answer. Well the retailer certainly handled them correctly as it was Chiswick House. I have now emailed the nursery to see what they think.

[Chipchopper]

I've found that they do have a tendency for dropping petals or whole flowers all at once.
Seems they can be fussy and sulk at being moved.

Someone gave me a bunch to take to the care home, and when I went to visit, the following day, most of the flowers had dropped on the floor.

[woofgang]

Chipperchopper, they don’t do well at all as cut flowers, The flowers tend to drop and the buds don’t open. I have got a lot of camellias and have tried many times to enjoy them indoors but they don’t seem to last past about 8 hours

[DTCwordfan]

they like their beds, seriously.....