My first thought was that sasanquas can generally handle more sun than a japonica, so moving it to another spot in the yard might work if it's an area with some protection from wind, and not under a structure where ice/snow can collect and dump on top of the plant. The usual advice is that if you live in a colder zone, you should not plant a camellia in a place where it will get morning sun in the winter months. I'm not sure how critical that is, but that's the theory, and I can't say if there are people out there breaking the rule with impunity or not. There are quite a few gardening 'rules' that may or may not be useful. My second thought is that camellias can adapt to containers quite well, and can be pruned to stay an attractive, manageable size. Moving it into an unheated shed for the coldest weeks of the year is probably a good solution if you can keep an eye on the plant to be sure it doesn't dry out. My third thought is that because camellias respond so well to pruning, that you may want to think about whether you do need to move it at all, or if you can keep it in place with a pruning or two each year? Camellias like rich loamy soil, but also need some drainage. Mulch helps to keep the dirt from drying out, and provides a bit of insulation for protection from the cold. Whenever you grow a plant on the 'cusp' of its winter tolerance, you're taking a chance that an unexpected cold snap, or a freeze/thaw/freeze cycle can stress your plant past its ability to cope, but that can happen in warmer zones, too. Camellias are pretty tough, though, and yours has already survived an unusually cold winter there, so I'd say the odds are good that you can keep your 'Setsugekka' alive and happy with a little attention to its needs. Good luck, Virginia

this is two questions: What can you do to increase winter survival of plants, be they young, zone marginal, whatever. And what would you do? The question of what would you do can only be answered by each individual person, based on their own criteria. Most people I know who have spent their lives lusting after all things chlorophyll go through stages: Early on, they'll go through great effort to try to get things to survive. Then this becomes something they go through only for specific specimens that have great value to them (whatever that value may be). Then they more or less give up and say, eh, it's going to survive or not, whatever happens, so be it. The question of what can you do deserves to be more fully answered. Temperature is by far the most important single factor in a plant's ability to survive any given winter, but it's not the only one. It's also the only one you really can't change, at least without massive dedication and expense. For instance, I know someone in Frazee, MN who built a solar powered radiant heated greenhouse...so he could grow peaches. You can mulch to protect the roots from freeze/thaw cycles, especially on young plants. Certain places, certain conditions, this is more important. The six week above 40 degree rule deserves mention. Wind exposure. I used to live in a place where winters were brutal. Definition of brutal? Diesel freezing in the fuel line. Plants that were supposedly fully hardy would wither and die from wind exposure. For the most part, for me, this means careful placement of plants at the time of planting. For instance, no rhoddies in a wind tunnel. This is also where anti-dessicants come onto play...and yes, I know I just tread upon heresy according to some...not so much with needle-leaved plants, but more so with broadleaved evergreens. The single most important thing you can do to increase a plant's chance's of survival? Adequate water through fall. It's generally simple, and in most cases, it's something you can actually do without a fantastic amount of effort or expense.

I agree with Luis- pick off the yucky leaves and throw them away (don't compost), and keep an eye out to see if you still have a problem. As for the cottony stuff, have a look at these possible ID's: http://bugguide.net/node/view/1257773/bgimage http://bugguide.net/node/view/7342 http://bugguide.net/node/view/5748 If you see these bugs on any of your plants, feel free to squash them like the bugs they are; they are not beneficials. On the other hand, they are not likely to cause enough damage to warrant chemical intervention. Your camellia is already putting out nice new leaves, and should replace the yucky leaves when you pick them off. The real problem could just be that they are senescent (old) leaves that for some reason haven't yet fallen off by themselves... Good luck, Virginia

Yknow, IMHO, I wish we all could drop the "D" word from our vocabulary. If we love it , if its well made, if its functional - then a place can be found for it, period. In other words - your china cab is just fine, and it does look good on the side rather than viewed head on. That said of course we like our rooms freshened up now and then - but I think you can jazz it up in other ways incl choosing a new color ILOVE greens/browns/tans, but the pea soup color Im kind of tired of. (or so it looks on my monitor anyway, which has been known to be wrong.) Definitely think about going deeper richer. Dont know if Penny's or Anglo's deep dark colors are good for you but it gives you an idea at least of what deeper/richer could do for you. If all else fails maybe you could just take the living room color and just go a few steps darker/more intense with it. Let the DR be cozy and intimate complete w/ a big china cabinet - why not? The DR should relate well to the LR, and that would be one way of doing it. Minor quibble - I would think about that wall space where the china cab was - is there a third pic that could fit in there? With cabinet moved, that wall becomes very significant. Not liking just the two pics , needs to be 3 I think..... Or some other wall decor or arrangement .... minor thing, so perhaps just wait for the inspiration or right thing to come along.