You wrote:
"watered the camellias the first time with the drip for 3 minutes a day"

That's not near enough time. Nor is the 10 minutes once a week.

To know for certain how long to run the system, you have to check to see just how much soil has been moistened. The time will depend upon a number of things, including how many drippers are for each plant, also their output (e.g.: 1/2 gallon per how, 1 gallon, or 2 gallons.)

Try running the system for an hour,. Turn it off, then check the spoil an hour later to determine several things:
1. How deep did the water go?
2. How wide did the water go?

If not deep enough, nor wide enough, try a longer runtime, then recheck.

I have camellias that I have never watered. They get winter rain and thats it. Even last year with less than 2 inches of rain, they were just fine and bloomed well.

The thing is, their roots are completely shaded at all times. The tops get morning sun, but because of a wall the roots are always in deep shade, so winter rain is quite enough to get them through the summer. So your watering routine could be fine. But--are the roots shaded? Camellias have small, shallow and sensitive root systems. A mulch helps a lot--but the mulch must not be too thick--oxygen needs to get through. Those small, shallow root systems need oxygen and a too thick mulch will suffocate them. Same reason you should not over water camellias--they can suffocate from lack of oxygen.

So, are your camellia roots shaded? How is the drainage in the area? Are they overwatered (the roots are soft and black and mushy) or underwaterd (the roots are light brown and dry and nearly crumbly)?

Easiest way to determine overwatering is to dig a little bit of soil several inches down and smell it. If it smells really bad you have anerobic conditions--lack of oxygen. Of course if you dig a little bit and it is dust, you know your not watering enough.

Are they on the east side, north side of the house?

Did you overfertilize? Those small, shallow, sensitive root sytems can't handle much in the way of fertilizer.

I notice that you are both concentrating on watering. Is this the cause of flowers and buds turning brown and falling off and leaves turning brown? I am new at this so please forgive my foolish questions. I respect your experience.

The house is shaped like an L-shape. The camellia bed is in the inside corner of the L, with the bed facing north east.

The plants are fertilized once a month with a regular fertilizer and are due about now. I hope to change to an acid fertilizer.

I don't think I can count on winter rain being enough here in San Diego except maybe this past year.

The drainage is a problem, since the property is inclined down toward the camellia bed from all directions. I suppose from your input that it could be the total cause of my problem. I can't figure out how to improve the drainage and neither have contractors come up with a solution. There doesn't appear to be an access for drainage downstream of the bed since it narrows significantly in that direction.

Prior to modifying the camelia bed, adding mulch and changing to drip irrigation, I could readily see that the bed was always very wet with patches of moss on the surface. I could see that the soil was extremely wet and I often shut off the irrigation for long periods of time to help dry it out. Maybe I had better shut it off again. Being 82 years old and handicapped in a wheelchair I cannot readily dig down to sample the soil. Would you recommend that I brush away patches of mulch so I can see the soil and use my moisture meter attached to a stick?

Perhaps gardening takes more effort than I can give it but I love my plants and will try anything.

Good info from Sunset -

"Burned leaf edges, excessive leaf drop, or corky spots usually indicate overfertilizing.

"One disease may be serious: camellia petal blight. Flowers rapidly turn an ugly brown. Browning at edges of petals (especially on whites and pale pinks) may be caused by sun or wind, but if brown rapidly runs into center of flower, suspect petal blight. Sanitation is the best control. Pick up all fallen flowers and petals, pick off all infected flowers from plants, and dispose of them in covered trash bin...Remove any mulch, haul it away, and replace with fresh materials; a deep mulch (4-5 in.) helps keep spores of the fungus from reaching the air."

Brenda

My Camellias are on the north side of the house and are fifty years old. For at least 40 years they have not been watered or fertilized, only pruned. Soil here is clay/loam and well drained. As I read your posts I missed reading how old your plants were. Al

In several posts on other forums, the originator of this thread said the camellia was planted recently.

The care for recent plantings is far different than a well-established one.

3 minutes of drip system isn't enough for any plant other than -- possibly -- the very youngest seedling. Maybe.

After you complete your watering session by whatever method you choose, check to see where the water went.

To do so, stick a trowel in the ground. How deep did the water go? How wide did it go? Is that sufficient for the plant at hand?

I suggest 3 minutes isn't enough.

Further, where is that dripper? At this stage in the camellia's life -- that is recently planted -- the dripper should be on top of the original rootball.

Also, was the ground moist when the camellia was planted? If not, that's another reason for the failing health of the plant.

In answer to questions by jean001, my camellias were planted 8 years ago. The plant with the most problems is about 5 feet tall. At the time of planting 8 years ago irrigation with rising spray heads was incorporated. The drip system is the only thing new. There are 2 emitters for each camellia plant located on top of the soil just below the mulch.