How to Fertilize Camillia Trees

Camellia trees are a member of the Tea Tree family. This group of plants comes in 3,000 varieties, however, the Camellia japonicas and sasanqua are the most popular varieties in the U.S. To produce the best flowers and foliage possible, you need to fertilize your Camellia trees properly. These steps will help you to do this.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Camellia fertilizer
• Water
• Soil pH testing kit

Fertilize Your Camellia Trees

1. Understand that your Camellia trees like acidic soil. Use a soil pH testing kit to determine if your soil has the right pH level for your Camillia trees. It should be between 5.5 and 6.5. If you don't have a testing kit you can just look at the surrounding vegetation. If you are planting in an area that is supporting conifers, pine trees or blueberry plants, then your soil is naturally acidic and perfect for your Camellia trees.

2. Select an appropriate fertilizer. If your soil is not acidic then you will need to use an acidic fertilizer. There are fertilizers that are marketed specifically for Camellia trees, however, any fertilizer that has a general analysis of either 8-8-8- or 10-10-10 will work great. On the other hand, if your soil is already acidic then you can use a generic general purpose fertilizer such as Miracle Grow.

3. Create a schedule for fertilizing your Camellia trees. Some people recommend that you only fertilize your Camellia once a year in the early or mid spring, while others recommend that you fertilize your Camellia tree two or three times a year. You will want to follow the instructions on your fertilizer bag. If you have a slow-release acidic fertilizer then you will want to fertilize your Camellia trees twice a year, once in March and once in July. If you have a rapid release acidic fertilizer then you will want to fertilize your Camellia trees three times a year, once in March, once in May and once in July.

4. Measure out your fertilizer. Generally you will only need about one tablespoon of fertilizer per foot of Camellia tree height. This means if you have a 10 foot tall tree you will need to use 10 tablespoons of fertilizer. When you apply the fertilizer to the soil, make sure you spread it out evenly and that you extend the fertilizer out a little bit from the drip zone.

5. Water your trees after you apply the fertilizer. This will help disperse the fertilizer and keep it from burning your trees. Watering is especially important if you didn't remove the mulch from around the base of your tree before you fertilized it.