Garden Q&A: How should I apply iron to my camellia plants?

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

QUESTION

How do I apply iron to my plants such as camellias?

ANSWER

Many plants, such as camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, skimmia, pieris and other ericaceous specimens can suffer from iron-induced inter-veinal chlorosis. 

This manifests itself as a general yellowing of the leaves between the leaf veins. 

It is caused by a lack of iron. Interestingly that doesn’t mean that there isn’t enough iron in the soil, there may be. It is more to do with the pH of the soil. 

Camellias and the other plants referred to above like to grow in slightly acidic soil, that is a pH of seven or below. 

If the pH is too high — seven or above — then the plants cannot absorb the iron from the soil at that pH and thus it must be provided to the plant in a formulation that is available to them. 

This is chelated or sequestered iron. 

Apply it as a soil drench around the root zone of the camellia from March onwards. 

The actual rate and the interval between applications will vary depending on which brand you have but it will need to be reapplied several times during the growing season.

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