A way to beautify gardens in the late fall is by forcing camellia blossoms to bloom early. This also allows you to avoid losing some less hardy blooms to winter injury due to hard freezes. Gibbing is a practice used to force early blooms of camellias. Not all varieties will respond in the same way to the treatment, but some blooms can be expected within 40 to 45 days. The method that is the easiest and best is to remove the vegetative bud next to a flower bud.
Flower buds are plum and rounded while vegetative buds are smaller and pointed.
Then a small drop of GA should be put where the bud was attached. GA can be bought in an acid and a salt form. Gardeners who have not used GA before should use materials that are already prepared and ready to use. If your local gardening center doesn't carry GA, check with your local camellia society. For gardeners who have worked with GA before, the solution should be 0.1 ounce GA to 5 ounces of water.