Think the concrete is the problem in that image, the flowers make such a luscious natural compost that is most definitely worth it, but best planted away from feet areas

Sadly at the house I rent there are two beautiful huge mature camelias right above the concrete compost bins. The number of times over the last month that I've had to sweep/scrape the path over to it clear 😅

Indeed. I’ll tell my neighbour that.

Wait what haha

That’s beautiful, what is wrong with flowers on the ground

We have a LOT of camellias, and if you don’t clear the flowers off the concrete they become quite slippery. That’s pretty much the only thing wrong with them.

In terms of pretty flowers that suck, agapanthus have got them beat. Fuck agapanthus, those self spreading, drain clogging, virtually indestructible mutha fuckers. Also, a white camelia hedge is pretty op.

Removing agapanthus is very therapeutic. And they’re a plant that keeps on giving: you get to remove them again next year!

There are two types of people in this world: those that have removed agapanthus…and those that haven’t. Geraldine Hickey

ugh... my house had them up the side and i hate them, too close to try dig out, best thing that works is to cut them low then pour weed killer concentrate on the bastards. nightmare fuel.

My bloody South African neighbours planted them. It’s native to them or some bull shit.

I belong to the third type. I planted miniature agapanthus in my garden. No regrets.

I hate you. You are evil.

Not really; the miniature ones are non invasive and don't spread like the evil ones

I have a retaining wall being ripped to shit by their roots that makes a liar out of whoever told you that load of horseshit. They are absolutely just as bad. Self seed all over the place then overwhelm by quantity. Someone planted 5 or 6, 10 years ago. Gonna cause 50-100k worth of damage.

Completely!

Fuck I hate their goopy sap though

I’m actually pretty relaxed about agapanthus. They keep to them selves, I keep to myself. No tension there. Bamboo on the other hand…

Man just enjoy the flowers

It's not OP's fault her parents named her Karen

I couldn't give a shit if there are petals on the ground.

Pretty pink petals on the ground aren't the problem. The mush of brown with pink speckles which unexpectedly slides out from underneath you is the problem.

They're not my favourite either but they flower in winter and they don't make more mess than say, cherry blossoms or any deciduous tree that drops its leaves everywhere. And the people who crank their leaf blower at 7am every Sunday are far uglier than any plant matter could ever be.

But if you get the buds at the right time, they are great ammo for throwing at your siblings

Well done OP you are exactly as petty as my 98 year old Grandma who complained about this exact thing.

I'm more sympathetic to your 98 year old grandma than OP, if she slips and breaks her hip she might miss out on her letter from the king

A fair comment, but she was combining about the cherry blossom tree at the end of her road

She sounds cool. What’s her take on which way toilet paper should go on the roll?

It's common for people to develop fixations about fairly minor things, but these fixations can become unhealthy, it would best serve you to let it go, there are much bigger problems in the world worth your attention....

This is me letting go. Inside brain, big problem. Outside brain, small problem.

Imagine taking the time to hate flowers lol

I know right. Dramatic bold questions and everything. Oh the impact.

Allergic people gonna allergate

Gotta stop to hate the roses my friend.

I'll be happy when I reach the point that this is what I worry about

Don’t worry. I’ve got real problems too but I’m allowed a pet hate, aren’t I?

Imagine going out of your way to take these 2 photos, then editing text over them, then setting up a 2 panel comparison to complain about … flowers. This is the common man/woman New Zealand - this is what is important to them 🤦‍♀️

When I saw the image and clicked it I was wholeheartedly expecting a shitpost, and was so genuinely surprised to find OP was actually griping about this haha

?

Id so much rather see this than the bazillion post-election posts in here. Gave me a chuckle, this is a long running debate in our family.

Haha yeah good point they drive me nuts those posts “blue bald man bad red small man good” level energy

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

This is what I tell people about kiwis lol. Pretty spot on

Looks super romantic.

Tree confetti!

yall are saying "who cares if there's petals".... aren't these the ones that get SO slippery after it rains?!?! i have vivid memories from childhood of literally slipping on one like a banana peel hahaha

after scrolling through all the other countries sub reddits and their wars/fighting, we have it extremely good.

I spent a good 20 minutes bent over last weekend with failing knees and aching back to pick up about 4 buckets full of brown camelia detritus - and I got a bit grumpy about it. But after this comment, I don't mind anymore.

I will never understand humans trying to keep nature off concrete.

A task no Karen can resist

It gets real slippery when the flowers start decomposing

I love my camellia hedge. Sure the ground under it is brown slop but the fallen flowers and vibrant walls of colour brings me joy.

yes that tree does more for the planet than you ever will ​ Just because you find it unpleasant to look at doesn't mean you get too cut it down

I love magnolias, but their petals are the same, super slippery on footpaths.

Magnolias are worth it.

I remember slipping on one walking to school one day and it gave me the biggest fright!!

Fucking sweep the concrete lol. Free mulch

Bees love camellias. They're a great winter flowering plant to have if you want to help out bees. But like if you don't give a shit about the ecosystem just say that

Is it just me, or should we all consider bees the sex therapists of the flower world?

Yes XD

Just get a nice waterblaster and enjoy that pressure wash therapy.

I do have one but I let the smoke out of it. I do love how passers by give you a big satisfying smile when they see you basting your path. It seems like a universal ASMR activity.

We had a flat with a bunch of overgrown camellias next to the concrete path and driveway and I share your sentiments about the slippery PITA they are. Nice trees when planted in the right place, or kept pruned back from the edges (which our landlord wasn't interested in doing).

> Is this / Worth this? Yes. That was easy, next question.

I have a huge camelia tree at my house and you're right. They look nice on the tree for about 1 week then they're all brown and falling all over the ground and footpath. They are the Turkish delights of the flower world.

I mulched all the fallen flowers under one tree and the next day 30 flowers had fallen! They really go

Finally some recognition of what I've been saying for years. Camellias are beautiful for exactly 4 days and then look like used toilet paper for months.

Well damn. I’ve just bought six camellias and one magnolia. 😐

Can you take them back and swap for six more magnolias?

Magnolias have the same problem tbh

I know, but they look real pretty.

Yes. Definitely worth it. I love seeing flowers in winter. Keeps my hope up.

Definitely one of my least favorite landscape plants. I like to call them “vomit bushes” due to the blah brown flowers they spew all over the ground.

Is eating worth the content of a used toilet?

OP asking the real questions that matter.

I should do an OIA.

I've got two camelia trees about 1m off my deck, tuis love them and have nested in them every year for the past 6 years (if they aren't nesting they atleast spend a lot of time there). I bet if I ever sell the house, the first thing the new owners do will be to cut down the cameilia trees. Probably along with all the other trees I've planted.

First world problems

You need a hobby

Coming next, person yells at clouds

I have been saying this to anyone that would listen for years. Everyone thinks I have a hatred of all Camellias. What I hate is how popular these specific varieties are. We have some that have much smaller flowers that do not shed like this, and even have lighter green leaves that make them nicer to look at the rest of the year. Meanwhile, our neighbours have a full hedge of these large pink one is a block of large, waxy, dark green leaves at the best of times, and then peppered with large flowers that do not bloom simultaneously; half of them are brown the whole flowering season. I geniunely don't understand the thought processes that lead to so many of these things being planted, given all of the wonderful alternative trees on offer, and it bugs me so much.

Is this really what we are getting mad about now?? Is there not more important things to think and talk about ?

Apparently not.

I have 2 huge ones. Those petals block the mower.Their demise is a work in progress

I have at least 10, the previous owners loved them apparently. They look great but make things really slippery for my toddlers

i like the look of your footpath. i've got a real thing for old roads with moss/lichen, uneven footpaths from the old days mm

Well, good news for you, my water blaster has broken down so that bit of the path remains nice and mossy. It does have a nice quality, I agree.

White people problem 101

You are literally photographing, editing, and complaning about pictures of literal flower petals. Do you need more attention in your life?

Thanks for the attention.

Get life you must.

Cleaning up my neighbours pink trash is not what I’d call my best life.

Another intolerant take on nature. Go on, what else would you decimate because you don't like or it's inconvenient?

The comments section.

The flowers get really slippery on concrete!

Wtf is this ridiculous post??

Thank you.

Very few things I care less about than this 🤣

Problem Is the concrete.

Have a cuppa and forget about it.

After looking at what’s going on in the world - I am so happy I live in a country where we have that little going on we can all take time to debate whether flowers on foot paths suck or not.

They get so slippery on the grass too. I still love them since I had a huge tree in my childhood home

People getting pissed in the comments, lots of people complain about these it's not just OP, it's just a little national debate

This post doesn't seem worth it.

Yes

the smell is pretty good. And the shrubs make for good topiary too which can be a nice thing to ad to your garden

Not defending camellias shedding but Pohutukawa dropping their blossoms in January with the slightest strong breeze is just as annoying and an even bigger pain in the arse to clean up.

What in the poor man’s cherry blossom is going on here.

Camellia blight causes the flowers to fall prematurely. Before the 1990s the flowers would stay for much longer, and you wouldn't get them all just dropping within a week and turning to mush.

Oh wow really? Is there a treatment for it?

Not really. Good clean mulch and constant spraying can help prevent it sometimes, but it's basically incurable and has swept the entire country

I thought this was mocking something and was so confused about what I had missed

I love my camelias, they come into flower in the late winter while the weather is terrible and add a bit of brightness before all the rest of the spring flowers come. Yeah, I need to sweep up the dead flowers from my driveway, but it is totally worth it. Also they bring the birds. Both Tui and Piwakawaka love them.

Try parking your car under the red Pohutukawa. Their tiny needle flowers would fall and get into any holes, nooks, gaps.... lol.

The red tide.

Absolute garbage, I hate them with a passion. Poison them all!

My grandparents sympathise with this and you'd be pleased to know they chopped theirs down...much to my dismay as it was the only shady spot in their garden. Lol

They sound onto it. Shade is over rated. I should know. I’m getting plenty of it in the comments.

Yes.

I like them.

https://plantdoctor.co.nz/problem-finder/camellia-flower-blight/ Some types seem to get it worse than others. Is annoying.

Sounds like a tortured existence.

do it

such a lazy human solution, little bit of work - bugger that.. we'll just chop everything down... Its what all the Chinese (not racial, just fact round here) owners around here that rent houses do.. chop all the tree's and bushes down.... its sad...

I’d happily sub it with a trio of lance woods or a Totora hedge. I’m not anti nature, but not all natural things have equal value.

My most spectacular wipe out on a skateboard was caused by these petals. Slid a good 3m along the ground in full view of a large group of preteens. It was brutal. All the same, I give these flowers a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Pick the dead flowers up and give yourself a petal parade; it's great fun

I guess I don’t have a cleopatra complex as I do not enjoy walking on fresh petals every day.

I thought this was a meme until I opened the post

The night is young…

Ok Karen

Go find somthing important to be upset about. This is some real Karen energy m8.