QUESTION:

For Mother's Day 2006, I received two camellias (5 feet tall in pots) called Mrs. Charles Cobb and Kramer's Supreme.Because of backyard reconstruction, I couldn't plant them until November. Mrs. Cobb had lots of buds. Kramer looks healthy now but, Mrs. Cobb's buds never bloomed and the leaves are showing brown and dark spots. What can I do to bring it back? What kind of pruning should I do?ANSWER: This spring, fertilize both plants with one of the shrub fertilizers formulated for camellias. Since they have had the winter to produce new roots, they should settle down nicely and start to grow this year. Pay close attention to watering them this year during dry weeks. Use pine needle mulch at the base of the plants.If Mrs. Cobb's buds turned brown and papery before opening, that is cold damage, which occurred during a blast of cold weather earlier in the winter. They would simply snap off the plant. If the buds are still there, looking OK, they should open this month. Mrs. Charles Cobb is usually rated a midseason bloomer, which is now.The spots on the leaves are either a fungus or weather damage. If there are only a few, you can take them off before the plant starts growing this spring. Prune to shape, if needed, before they start growing again.

Nancy Brachey is garden editor of The Charlotte Observer, 600 S. Tryon St, P.O. Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230.By MCTNews Service