Gardeners will be eagerly anticipating their garden displays bursting into full bloom, particularly as the seasons shift. You might feel tempted to sit back and take it easy, but a gardening expert has highlighted that there’s plenty still to be done, especially if you’re hoping for a stunning garden display next year.
That doesn’t mean you can neglect your other plants and flowers, particularly if you have camellias growing in your garden. In fact, gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish explained that spring is the ideal time to begin carrying out maintenance tasks on this specific flower. Ish said: “When your camellia stops flowering, it becomes the most crucial time to do any maintenance jobs.
“This doesn’t want any cutting or pruning at the end of the summer or wintertime like most of your other plants, because throughout the course of the year what this is actually doing is developing new buds ready for next year’s flowers.
“So if you chop this all back at the end of summer, chances are you’re going to ruin the display next year, and no one wants that.”
To prevent any mishaps with next year’s blooms, Ish clarified that gardeners needn’t concern themselves with deadheading the plants. Instead, the flowers will naturally fall away on their own, reports The Mirror.
Wait until the stems are slightly less full, trimming away any overlapping stems that are rubbing against one another. Stems in contact can shed bark into the surrounding area, heightening the risk of disease and infections that could devastate the display.
Camellias typically bloom between October and April, so they are coming to the end of their current blooming cycle. A primary concern for gardeners when growing camellias is the acidity level in the soil, so you want to bear that in mind when feeding and mulching the plants.
Camellias will flourish in acidic soil. By planting the flowers in alkaline soil, they’ll produce an abundance of leaves instead of flowers.
To resolve this issue, Ish suggested using an ericaceous compost or another product that will boost the acidity level in the soil. According to Gardeners’ World, you want to ensure the soil has a pH level of six to 6.5 when planting and growing camellias.
Ish recommended pine bark chips on the top of the soil, or an extra layer of ericaceous multipurpose compost. The gardening expert also advised keeping the plant well-watered.
He said: “A lot of people think because it’s done it doesn’t need a good watering. Keep it well-watered like you would the rest of your plants, and next year, you should end up with an even more gorgeous display than you did this year.
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