Composting camellia blooms

[chills]

i have been searching online and get conflicting messages.
im wondering do you compost your camellia blooms or throw them out?

thank you.

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm not in the right zone for camellias, but I was wondering what they have in them that makes them a controversial compost item, do you know Chills?

 

[boggybranch]

The way I look at this (and I'm know that it could be wrong, sometimes) is.....If the blooms that hit the ground and are allowed to stay there does not kill the growth, or stunt it's growth, underneath....into the compost pile it goes. Love to compost all kind of blooms.

 

[boggybranch]

Just "consulted" my compost bible (The Complete Book of Composting by Rodale)......No mention of 'camellia" at all......soooooo I'd compost them, without a doubt.

 

[chills]

thank you, i go back and forth. this is what i found on line:

Don't compost your camellia blooms because they're susceptible to a fungal disease known as petal blight.

i just didnt want to pass on any cooties to future plants, but i hate to throw out a good source for my pile.

here is my thought/plan, i clean up the blooms daily, if they show any signs of brown on the bloom i'll throw them out. if they still look pretty i'll throw them in the pile. i'm not certain of my compost pile temperature, so i dont know if i'd be killing the cooties.

thank you for posting.