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[!I have planted my camelia in a barrel. Few months back its leaf started turn yellowish . I feed it with iron containing fertilizer . Now its leaf becoming brown , like it caught fire. What i have to do now?.. This plant is not over watered and it now getting better sun than it was on ground. This plant was perfect while it was on ground?.So the main question is camelia good to grow on barrel?. enter image description here

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  • Few points for clarification please - how long was this plant in the ground before you moved it to the barrel? And what part of the world are you in?
    – Bamboo
    Commented Oct 1, 2018 at 10:37
  • The pant was on ground for more than one year. I live in Wicklow, Ireland.
    – Bibin Chorickanpara
    Commented Oct 1, 2018 at 15:14

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You say you moved this Camellia from the ground into a barrel earlier this year - that might mean some root damage was caused, and that would show itself in the foliage. It's not possible to see how big (or not) the Camellia is from your photograph in relation to its container, nor do you say whether it flowered this year, both of which would have been useful to know. However, assuming there was no root damage, and that you did not cram the rootball into the barrel (in other words, there was plenty of room to accommodate the roots without cramping them up to get them in) the most likely explanation is you've not kept up with sufficient watering, given it's now in more direct sun than it was. This is a plant that prefers moist but well drained soil and partial shade; if you had a hot summer, the sun would have been very strong and may have scorched the leaves as well as causing a requirement for extra water - in such conditions, it should have been given a good gallon or so of water possibly twice a day, but certainly daily, reducing that to every few days once the heat abated.

You don't say if you used potting soil (hopefully you did, and it's not potted in soil from the garden), or what type - it should have been new, ericaceous potting compost, which is specially intended for use with acid loving plants such as Camellia. If you did not use this type of potting soil, it's probably worth unpotting it, removing what you can of the existing soil, and repotting using ericaceous. I'm assuming there is good drainage from the barrel, either through the slats at the base if it has them, or it has drainage holes drilled into the bottom. It looks as though there are other plants in with the Camellia - remove those, it needs all the root space it can get.

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  • I have added few more photos.. The one with flower was taken while I moved the plant. it was around march- may time. I used top soil with compost .
    – Bibin Chorickanpara
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 19:16
  • Ah, so summer bedding around it, and a half barrel rather than a barrel. I still think its worth repotting into ericaceous compost - you'll be removing the summer bedding shortly anyway, so this month is a good time to do it. And don't add any plants to the half barrel next year ....at the size the Camellia is, it needs all that space for itself. You'll likely need a bigger pot in another year too...water in well after repotting, and keep well watered during hot weather.
    – Bamboo
    Commented Oct 2, 2018 at 23:07
  • Thanks for answering .. My last question ,I am now using iron solution when a gardener advised me when its leaf turn yellow .So that will make soil acidic right?.. Even if I use new ericaceous compost ( as barrel is big I may have to spend lot) , will till gradually become non acidic after a while ?...As Camelia will flower only for a small period , I was bedding Gerunium to add a color. But planing that small plant affect the other one?..
    – Bibin Chorickanpara
    Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 14:40
  • Iron tonic only lasts a few months, it flushes out of the soil. If there's a lot of spare soil in the barrel, then its okay to add some temporary plants (pansies in winter, geraniums in summer, whatever) but after a year or so, if you find roots when you try to plant extra plants in there, or the Camellia has doubled its size, don't put anything else in. Its probably as expensive to keep using iron tonic as it will be to replace the compost with ericaceous...
    – Bamboo
    Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 14:49
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    Okay, its your choice of course, but I will just say, one large bag (70 or 80 litre) of potting compost should easily have been sufficient to fill the half barrel...
    – Bamboo
    Commented Oct 7, 2018 at 13:34

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