[Annen]

I have a camellia in a pot, bought last year. It flowered this rotten spring/summer and it has put on some new growth, but which is yellowish and mottled.  I put a camellia feed on the surface of the compost about 3 weeks ago but there has been no change.
Does anybody know what could be wrong? It has had some awful weather to put up with.
Or do I just have to wait longer before results?

[Yorkie]

What sort of compost is it in?

[fatcat1955]

Camelia's are acid loving plant's so feed with a high nitrogen fertiliser and make sure you only use ericaeus compost when topping up or potting on. Another good tip is to empty all your used tea bags into the pot.

[Annen]

I used ericaceous compost to pot it up when I got it last summer, and the  feed I used is a specialised camellia feed, so I would have thought that would have been okay.

The feed has been on the compost for only 3 weeks to a month, so perhaps it takes a bit longer to show any effects? The leaves are quite leathery.  I know it will have some die back on some of the leaves as it is an evergreen, but this looks like all of the new leaves are dying. 

Could it be the cold and wet which we had round here (Newcastle upon Tyne) from April through to July? It rarely got above 12C for those three months and the saucer the pot is in was full of water all the time.

[Goosegirl]

I don't like the fact that its pot was full of water for so long as roots need air as well as feed. Personally, I would lift it out of its pot and have a look at the roots and where the stems sprout from it. If they seem in good health and there is no sign of disease or vine weevil, then re-pot with fresh ericaceous compost and hope for the best.

[Annen]

Thanks, goosegirl, that makes sense to take it out and have a look.  I was putting it off because it is so heavy.  The pot wasn't full to the top of water, just the bottom couple of inches and I thought there probably wasn't much in the way of roots that far down yet as it had only been in the pot for a few months.  But I'll have a look at the roots.  The RHS website mentions something called yellow mottle virus, which it could be.  I'll try the Tbag thing too.  Thank you for the input.

[Annen]

I have checked the ph of the soil in the pot before I took the step of tipping out of its quite large pot, and it turned out to be about 8 when it should be about 6! 
It did occur to me that although I had used ericaceous compost, I had topped it with a layer of gravel, which I didn't think to wash first.  So it could have been the dust from the gravel which might have been limey rather than acidy, and it has washed down to the root ball immediately underneath.
Anyway, I have re-potted it into a smaller pot (easier to manage) with some fresh compost and feed, with a freshly washed layer of gravel on the top.
Wait and see if that has done the trick.

[Yorkie]

Hope it works 

[fatcat1955]

Take all the gravel out. It is probably limestone or contains limestone. You will never get the ph down if you leave it in. When i used to breed tropical fish i spent fortunes on ph buffers trying to lower the ph. Then a friend told me about the limestone in gravel.

[Annen]

Hadn't thought of that!  Doesn't look like limestone, but come to think of it I don't know what limestone, excepting chalk, looks like.  Its the kind of gravel you put on paths.  I will try taking it off anyway, thanks for the tip.

[fatcat1955]

Take some out and pour some proper vinegar on it . If it fizzes it has lime it. Do not use non brewed condiment instead of proper vinegar.

[Spana]

They do also get aphids which causes the leaves to yellow . Have a look for whats called sooty mould on the leaves, a sure sign of aphids.

[Annen]

fatcat, I tried the vinegar thing on the gravel and it didn't fizz, I tried a soil test on it, its not soil, I know, but worth a go, and that showed up as Ph neutral.  I tested the dust and that showed up as alkaline. So I think I will leave the gravel on and see how it goes.

Also, I don't think it is aphids, there's no sign of them or any sooty stuff on leaves or stems.  Got some on nearby cosmos though!

[Annen]

Update:  (I like to hear the end of a story

I cut off the brown leaves and no more have browned.  It is a bit spindly, but it is only 2 years old and it has produced some flowers this year.

[Agatha]

It's looking good - I have a two-year-old one that is much smaller and hasn't flowered yet!