Hello, Silvia. I would routinely monitor to see if the symptoms persist or not. A smaller and more limited root system could be making it difficult for the plant to absorb the same amount of minerals needed to support the growth above ground. Here are a few of the basics that I would check: * make the soil as evenly moist as possible. maintain 3-4 inches of mulch up to the drip line and test the soil to make sure it is not wet. Water if the soil is almost dry or dry to the touch to a depth of 4" * the soil should be kept acidic (they will tolerate lightly alkaline soil too); test it with a soil pH kit available at many plant nurseries. * the soil should not be heavily fertilized as this can burn some roots; test the soil for high/low nitrogen/phosphorus/pottasium levels using a kit available at many plant nurseries. * check for salt built up in the soil too; it can cause a brownish-yellow leaf discoloration * make sure the plant leaves are not getting too much sun. If moved from an area where the leaves got little sun to one with more sun exposure, the leaves may temporarily react to the sunlight. If the exposure is not high, the leaves should adjust after a while. * make sure the plant has not sunk below the surrounding soil. * make sure there are few air pockets * the plant is stressed so try not to over-fertilize. * keep an eye for signs of camellia cankers and die back, a fungal disease (see the link below) Luis

Alan, it's long been established that top pruning before digging and transplanting is very counter productive for the plant. It 'sounds' like it makes sense (cut the roots:cut the top to compensate), but plant physiology doesn't back it up. You see, there is only one source of energy for making new roots...actually many sources and they are the leaves. Leaves and only the leaves are what create, through the process of photosynthesis, the carbon resources (energy)required to grow. If you prune off a bunch of the top growth, then the energy production is diminished enormously. Not only that, but the plant will be induced to expend unnecessary energy on the making of new leaves instead of new roots! Located in all of those branch ends (the growing tips) are hormones that dictate to a plant where to initiate new growth. By leaving those tips uncut, the plant is able to devote energy to root production. If you cut back the top, those hormonal pathways will be rerouted to shoot (above ground) development. Even though we can't see the regeneration of new roots, it happens very rapidly and very aggressively, as long as we have followed other proper planting specifications. If you've simply cut here and there, perhaps to remove broken branches and such, that's fine. You've done your homework. By the way, the use of pruning paint has been discarded as good horticultural/arboricultural practice for practically a generation! To add to the problems that your specific plant had is that its root system was ripped from the soil system, rather than being cut cleanly. Big problem. It's size makes it a more difficult transplant, too. There are several 'rule-of-thumb' measurements to go by regarding the size of the root ball required. One that I usually use is simple to remember: for every one inch of trunk DIAMETER (not circumference), you'll need twelve inches of root ball diameter. Take the trunk measurement about 4 inches above the soil level, which will typically be a wide part of the trunk. So, if the trunk of your camellia was, say, three inches across, then you'd want to dig a root ball that was around 36 inches across. The height of the plant makes no difference.

If they are in flower now, they are probably Sasanqua camellias. They are autumn flowering, some have quite small leaves, take more sun than Camellia Japonica (which is probably the ones you are more used to) and are very popular for hedging. They are not as "formal" as the Japonica. You might be able to identify the right one on sites such as - http://www.redlandsnursery.com.au/piclist/camelliasasanquapics.htm Burkes Backyard has information at - http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/1999/archives/25/in_the_garden/flowering_plants_and_shrubs/sasanqua_camellias Look down the page for the address of the Camellia Grove Nursery. You might like to take a flowering stem for a Sunday drive and get a positive identification. While you are waiting for spring to come (and fertiliser time) you might like to make sure the soil is moist and apply a nice layer of mulch.

tree time is counted in decades.. shrub time in about half that ... if you want a mature plant that looks like it is 5 years old.. YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO WAIT 5 YEARS ... and STOP CUTTING ON IT ... and in less than perfect sun.. add years ... fert will never solve the TIME issue ... unless i misread.. you already pruned it once.. and now you want to prune it again ... WHY ... put down the pruners and STEP AWAY .... have patience.. and it will come .. always prune out damaged part ... otherwise plants.. shrubs do NOT need annual pruning ... sounds like an old wives tale to me ... just stop pruning... and give it 3 years.. and lo and behold.. it will be larger and thicker ... more full ... ken