short lived flowers on camelia

[black bunny]

My camelia seems healthy enough with plenty of glossy leaves but the buds open, flower and turn brown and drop off quickly. OH reckons it's frost but this happens when there hasn't been a frost. Any ideas?

[lilacben]

Mine is the same, I just think it has a quick flower season.

[woofgang]

mine all keep their flowers nice for 2 or 3 days. The flower petals are quite juicy so it doesn't have to be particularly frosty to nip them, just a short burst of low temp in the night (hour or two) and not cold enough for ground frost to form. Its amazing how even quite a small garden can have quite distinct micro climates. If you are interested, get a cheap maximum minimum thermometer and start mapping where the highs and lows are.

[carlton23]

If the plant isn`t too tall, pour very cold water over them before the sun gets to them, and wash the frost off.

[pendelli]

Hi Black Bunny
Camelia should not be planted facing the morning sun. It is not the frost on its own that affects the bush , but a combination of frost and the sun rays hitting the buds(which will go brown and drop off) or flowers first thing in the morning.
Once bush has flowered any drop in temperature or cold winds will destroy the flowers. If drop in temp is forecast drape garden fleece or old net curtain over bush. Hope this helps for future years. cheers pendelli

[black bunny]

many thanks for all your replies.