Thank you, thank you, thank you ! I recognize both of your screen names, so I know I can take this advice to the bank. :) First I read both of your replies as I was waiting to leave to catch the bus. Had time to look up Armillaria, and almost lost hope. So now I've had time to mull it all over and took a quick glance at the camellia before the sun went down. Root rot : while a possibility in the near future, I really think I'm catching the change in winter water soon enough, but this will put that project forward for this summer. Looking this time I see the places I cleared in the fall and spring are draining well, but I need to come closer to the house and get the main source redirected. That rain barrel project, long put off would be a timely thing here too, since directing water from there on out in a new direction makes the most sense. I also noticed how much the main trunk and surrounding area for 4 or 5 feet out is elevated from the rest of the garden, so that's a better start than my imagination had told me. Sooty mold : I thought the same thing but have been watching for a few years and have not found any creatures. BUT.... I suddenly occurs to me, I need to get a ladder out and look closer, since all the branches start above my head. There could be tiny scale hiding in plain sight. Interestingly a similar looking mold grows on the lower 3 or 4 feet or so of the siding of the house right here. Always has. Stopped scrubbing if off about 20 or so years ago because I was doing more damage to the asbestos siding, than just letting it be there and not looking so close. The GOOD news : It took reading your reply Luis, to get me thinking clearer about sun exposure. The sun on this camellia has changed drastically this spring. It's a long story, including neighborhood politics, the party line sewer system, and changing home owners.. but in the end we won, and the terribly misplaced huge oak tree is finally gone. Don't take me as a tree hater, I'm quite the opposite, but this belonged in a park, not on the fence line next to my backdoor. I watched them plant that darn oak, and as it grew over the last 35 years about, it turned my backyard into a cave, killing most everything. It was a super duper special cultivar, purchased on Earth Day by the home owners, Hollywood people, Nice idea, but poor execution ya know. I never knew a tree could get that big, that fast, but it did. That oak did shade the camellia in the front yard from the western sun. I'm in the process of moving the shade plants there to safer spots now. And the reason the camellia was shaded before the oak ? My ancient cherry tree shaded it from the western sun. But see.. the oak damaged the cherry, and the limbs self pruned into a lion tail type situation. The huge limb that finally fell because of the weight of the cherries a few years ago, because of the oak, did shade the camellia in years past. Yes, it was a huge limb.. . tipped a telephone pole over a bit and pulled all the lines loose from the houses. Then the gutters tore off the corners of the houses. Like dominos. I felt bad about the whole darn thing, put it was the oak trees fault, not that others would understand. I just kept saying, " I'm sorry". :( See, my thought process stopped at the backyard when dealing with the oak tree damage on my property. Looking at how the green IS better on the other side of the camellia was the key Luis ! Well, I'll be up on a ladder at some point tomorrow guys. This post was edited by plaidbird on Thu, May 2, 13 at 0:55

Camellia oleifera 'Autumn Pink Icicle': Medium growing upright semi-evergreen hybrid shrub. Blooms hot pink blossoms late fall and winter. Heavy blooming, blooms resemble a peony. Shell pink, 4-1/2 inch high peony to rose form double with rabbit ear petals. Grows 3-4 ft, spreads 3-4 ft. Dr. William Ackerman of the U.S.D.A. hybridized camellias utilizing C. oleifera as a parent. He selected varieties which were superior from over 2,500 hybrids. They all bloom in the fall (September through December), and reach an ultimate height of 5-7 feet. I am a little concerned about the USDA Zone though. In some places, it was rated for Zone 6 and in others it was rated for Zone 7. I don't know what to tell you but I always hate when I see that. Hopefully, someone in Zone 6 in Tenn will chime in. Does your plant tag say Zone 6? I guess the only way to know if it is good in Zone 6 is to find an old specimen where you live. Visit the American Camellia Website to learn more about camellias. Click on the link below. Then review the information on the links titled 'Growing Camellias' and 'Caring for Camellias.' Luis Here is a link that might be useful: American Camellia Society - Camellia Q&A

I was able to root a cutting in water this past year. I cut a flower that was tucked behind the neighboring holly and out of sight. By the time the flower faded (about two weeks) I had the beginnings of roots. I cannot recall if I added anything to the water (cut flower food, asprin, water soluble fertilizer). I let the branch sit on the shelf in the kitchen and do what it would. I wasn't trying to root that cutting, but if it wanted to I wouldn't stop it! I should have kept a closer eye on it: when I checked on it last it had produced two small leaf buds, but the algae had coated the roots that had developed and the full leaves were browning. I threw it out at that point, giving up what little effort I had put into it. All of this is just to say, rooting in water can probably be done, just watch out for other problems.

I have a bunch of stuff growing under the canopy of my trees. It seems that this year my live oak is really competing for nutrients. My boxwoods,ligustrum, liriope are very clorotic. Even my columbine is struggling. I chalk it up to the drought. I planted Suspensum Viburnums two years ago and they seem to be doing very well, almost no chlorosis. They are more attractive and have a bolder foliage than most of the traditional foundation shrubs. http://www.floridata.com/ref/V/viburn_s.cfm My plumbago is also doing well. Sago Palms perform well in dry shade. Cast Iron plant does well in deep shade. Last year, I bought this really neat plant called a Beschornia. False Red Agave. I spotted them at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, in the succulent exhibit. And it was like, "What's That??!!" It's beautiful. I've got three of them. They look very tropical..Like a giant evergreen spider lily. Extremely drought tolerant. They're from the Sierra Madre. I managed to get mine from Rainbow Gardens. However, I don't know if it is something that they normally stock. They got their's from the person that supplied the Botanical Garden's. Beschorneria prefers shade. Yuccado is selling Beschornia seedlings. Here is a link: http://www.yuccado.com/displayone.php?ytitle=Beschorneria x 'Ding Dong' seedlings Beschorneria is very popular in Europe, but for some reason hasn't caught on here. Here is a picture of one in my yard. It's newly planted in the right hand corner. To the left is also a newly planted Mediteranean Fan Palm. In the very far right corner of the photo, near the house, I have one that is blooming. The link photo shows one in bloom. Here is a link that might be useful: Beschnorerias in an Irish Garden