help with a camillia

Hi, need some help or ideas with this one.

at work we've got a camillia (well, a few tbh) it's in a pot, and has been for at least 5 years as it's for sale. The plant's around 7' tall, and columnular.

Now for the problem part....

It's chucking out loads of buds, and has some nice, healthy looking green leaves around the lower reaches, but further up the plant the leaves thin out and have gone yellow. there also seems to be quite a bit of dead wood around the top. What I want to know is, how can i get this rather poorly specimen looking something like it used to?

I'll include a picture next week, or maybe sunday, if i get a chance to take one.

All help greatly appreciated

 

Hi Swanseadel probably run short of nutrients if it's been stuck in a pot for 5 years, pots are great but you need to be on the ball watering and feeding, either repot it into a bigger pot or plant it in the open ground, put plenty of well rotted compost in the hole.

 

Unfortunately that's a problem. I'd love to plant it out, but unfortunately being a garden centre we can't :( I'll see if we can re-pot it though, when's the best time of year for doing this?

 

Cut out anything obviusly dead. Take it out the pot and break the root ball up wash off the old compost, plant in a slighly larger pot (two or three sizes up) with new ericaceouse compost and give it a feed with sequestrene.

Most garden centers and nurserys seem to use a fine grade bark sawdust/bark mulch on the top to disscourage pearlwart and retain water.

At present any one visiting with a knowledge of horticulture will be putt of paying money for a root bound plant, I for one would not buy it.