Plant Tough Love

There are many reasons to grow Camellias. As a shrub, it is evergreen and looks great all year round. It is a relatively carefree plant, it actually seems to do better with a little neglect. Then of course, there are the flowers. Depending on which species and cultivars you grow, theoretically you can start having flowers as early as late September, all the way through April and even into May. This article is not going to go into how to grow these beauties, I will save that for another time. I am going to discuss what many people feel is tough love towards the plants.
Anybody that knows me, knows that I am a competitive person. I love a good contest and the camellia show season fills the bill perfectly. So how does tough love fit in?
I rip the flower buds right off the plant!!
I know, "WAIT!? I thought you competed in flower shows?"
I do.
I don't rip them all off, just most. It is called disbudding. A camellia will set many flower buds and they (most) will open okay, sometimes smaller, sometimes mishappen. The theory behind disbudding is to send all of that flower energy to fewer buds. The flowers will be bigger and will be able to open wider without it bumping heads with its neighbor.
September is the time to start really doing this, of course there are the early season bloomers that will start showing buds sooner, you can start whenever you start to see the buds. With that being said, you do not want to start too early! The plant will actually produce a second set of buds which will not only take more energy to produce, you have to go through the plant again removing them. I start disbudding about September first and will continue on until the shows I want to compete in are over, then they are free to bloom their little hearts out. I have usually pretty much got them all done by then, but don't tell the plants that.
Let me show you how it is done.
You want to check out your camellia plant for something that looks like this:

Notice the two buds together? Somebody has to go.

I chose the top one. There are a number of ways to decide which one has to go.
First, you need to think about spacing. Is there room for the flower to open completely?
Second, rain, frost and condensation are a flowers enemy. You really don't want them settling onto the flower itself, so, if the flower is facing down, as seen above, that is the one to save. The moisture will run off the back of the bloom, like water off of a ducks back, and not set foot on the inside.
I go through all of my camellias doing this. I know for a fact that I take more flowers off than I leave on, that is why I have to do this when my wife is not looking.
When it comes to the miniature flowers, I may take a few off, but you can actually lose some points if the flower is bigger than the "standard" size. This is only for the miniatures, everything else, the bigger the better. I am also in the camp of taking all of the lateral buds (buds up and down the length of the stem) off and just leaving the terminal bud (the one on the very end of the stem) on.
The easiest, and safest, for the other blooms is to use your thumbnail. Place it on the tip of the bud to remove and depending on which way it is growing, bend it in that direction. It should pop right off. This sounds easy, but, it took me a little while to get used to popping the flowers off. 
Mind you, this is mainly for the competitive circuit. If you want a mass of color, completely disregard anything that you have just read. Camellia sasanqua, the fall blooming Camellia is not usually shown as often, mostly because they are considered more of a landscape and rootstock type of camellia. Now before I get all kinds of e-mails, yes, I know that some shows have a sasanqua or species category. Yes, I have some very pretty ones in my own yard, namely Pink Serenade and Yuletide that I love. I also have some 150+ japonicas and reticulatas that are for competing. So I know how pretty the sasanquas are, I just like the show bloomers.
Matter of fact, here is the Pink Serenade......see all the buds I haven't touched yet?

This what the final product usually looks like:

Anyway, like I said earlier, it takes some getting used to ripping those flowers off. It is kind of along the same lines as pruning, it is hard to do and it will benefit the plant, or the flowers, in the long run.
Isn't that what tough love is all about!?!?
If you have any questions about this or any other articles I have written, please let me know. I also would love for you to come check out my The Citrus Guy public figure Facebook page, give me a like and follow me more on my horticultural activities.
Happy Growing!
Darren

Let's Tip the Scale

I have had a bunch of trouble with scale type insects in the past. Matter of fact, I almost lost my Variegated Eureka Lemon to a bad case of scale. Scale insects are one of the hardest to control in horticulture. There are SO many kinds that affect SO many different types of plants. For instance, you have Tea Scale (Fiorinia theae Green) on Camellias. It is the most common and probably the most destructive insect pest of Camellias. They are sometimes hard to find because they infest the undersides of the leaves. They harm the plant because they suck juices form the plant itself. Symptoms of infestation include yellow chlorotic splotches on the upper leaf surface.

ADULT TEA SCALE

It's almost a gimmee that your camellias will get scale, but you can keep it from progressing to major proportions with proper control measures. Scale infestations are more difficult to control when populations are heavy. You should take action and make spray applications when the first sign of scale is seen. Horticultural Oil, particularly, Neem Oil, sprays and Insecticidal Soap will help control the scale if applied properly. Both of these can be found on Amazon by following the links. Always follow label directions. This IS the LAW! Both of these products are considered a contact insecticide. For them to be effective, the plants must be thoroughly covered. This way they smother the insect. Hort oils should only be applied during the Spring and Fall when the temperature is above 40, but less than 85 degrees. Spraying in the heat of the day may result in leaf burn.

When it comes to Citrus, we can REALLY Tip the scales here: Snow Scale (Unaspis citri), Florida Red Scale (Chrysomphalus aonidium), Purple Scale (Lepidosaphes beckii), Glover's Scale (Lepidosaphes gloveri), and Chaff Scale (Parlatoria pergandii). Some of the soft scale insects include Caribbean Black Scale (Saisseta neglecta), Brown Soft Scale (Coccus hesperidium), Cottony Cushion Scale, (Icerya purchasi) and Florida Wax Scale (Ceroplastes floridensis).
Luckily the only scale from this list that I have had to deal with is the Brown Soft Scale and the Cottony Cushion Scale.
I found this interesting information about the Cottony Cushion Scale from the University of Florida Website:
The adult female cottony cushion scale is capable of self-fertilization and lays about 500 to 800 eggs. Eggs are laid within an egg sac and are red and oblong. The eggs can hatch within a few days during the summer months but can take up to two months during the winter. The cottony cushion scale population increases most rapidly during the drier months and requires about four months for a generation. Fortunately, there is a heavy natural mortality among the eggs and the first instar nymphs.
Want to see what one looks like?


These things are usually big enough I can just smash them. They are kind of ugly, don't you think?

BROWN SOFT SCALE


The Brown Soft Scale is what almost took out my lemon tree. Brown Soft Scales are protected from insecticides or sprays by waxy coverings, so spray control measures should be aimed at unprotected crawlers. Spot treatments should be applied when scales are present. Applications of insecticidal soap or horticultural oil will kill scales, but at least three treatments are needed to control an infestation. Repeat every six to seven days until scales have been eradicated. Dead scales do not fall from plants, so you'll have to examine plants to determine whether the scales are dead or alive. Crush the scale - if it's dry, the scale is dead; if the body is juicy or leaves a streak when smeared on a piece of paper it was alive. How's that for being gross?!
The major point I want you to take from today's post is this. Take the time to inspect your plants regularly, the old adage of "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" really hits home here. Scale insects are a real pain to deal with, if they get out of control it can be almost impossible to eradicate them. Look for anything unusual, small bumps, discoloration, or anything small that is crawling. If you do all this, you too can "Tip the Scales" in your favor!
Happy Growing!
Darren

Tag You're It

When it comes to buying plants or anything else I am poor....also read cheap! I love deals, plant swaps, trades, the barter system and making things for myself. Today's post deals with the last thing, making things for myself.
As you know, I have a great many varieties of Citrus. Many of them look very much alike in growth habit, leaf shape and size, etc. I am also amassing a decent size Camellia collection, through trades, grafting, cuttings, friends etc. The different cultivars there also have a great many similarities. I am very anal when it comes to keeping my plants tagged. I like to know who is doing what, if they need a little different care, etc. I have been using plastic tags stuck in the pots for years now. Occasionally they get lost, stolen (squirrels take them believe it or not) or just fade over time.
I have noticed many of my friends at the Camellia Society use aluminum tags hung from the plants. They are permanent, are always with the tree, and easy to spot.
I looked them up online. I found that I could get 100 of them for $15.95 +shipping. So basically, right around $20. Remember at the beginning I said I was poor, read cheap? Just like a lot of other families in the country, I don't have an extra $20. So, then a brain storm hit me. I drink soda and they come in cans....HMMMMM?!
I will make my own!

Start with an empty aluminum soda can. I find empty is easier to work with. Ha Ha.



I use Pepsi, it is the only one that will work. You can try Beer or Coke or some other kind, but I am pretty sure Pepsi cans are the only ones that work. The last two sentences were a joke, ANY aluminum can will work.



Cut the top and bottom off. Then slice it down the side. You will need to uncurl it a bit. Remember the sides will be rather sharp. You can file them down or wear gloves if this concerns you.



Cut the aluminum into approx 1 inch strips. They don't have to be exact, this isn't brain surgery. I get 7 from one can.



Punch a hole in it at one side with a nail.



Then with a ball point pen, write the name on it. If you write on it on a towel or several layers of newspaper it will indent better.
If you know the botanical and the common name put both. It could very easily be useful in the future if you have both.



You then slip a piece of wire through the hole and hang it from the plant. Make sure you tie it loosely to the plant so you don't girdle it. If you don't want to hang it, make a little hanger from an old coat hanger and stick that into the pot.
There, nice and cheap....especially if you already buy beverages in cans.
Happy Growing!
Darren