Camellia: Sunburn | Hortsense | Washington State University (2024)

FAQs

How do you revive a dying camellia? ›

If your camellia does die back, cut back to healthy growth. If the whole plant appears dead, cut hard back to 10 cm from the ground and give it till autumn to regenerate - which it will do if the roots are healthy. If you have a camellia in a pot, it is vital to stop the roots freezing.

Several diseases affect camellia plants. The most common include petal blight, canker, leaf gall, root rot, and camellia yellow mottle leaf virus. Petal blight affects camellia flowers, causing them to turn brown. This fungal disease generally occurs in spring and is usually due to abundant moisture.

Camellia foliage may become damaged by excessive afternoon sunlight. This damage is called sunscald. Sunscald: Camellias planted in full sun or against a south- or west-facing wall often get sunscald. Leaves will develop scorched or bronzed areas on the side of the plant directly exposed to the sun.

In excessive heat and sunlight, transpiration rates exceed water uptake from the soil, causing leaves to experience moisture stress. Leaves develop irregular brown areas along the edges which eventually spread inward along the ribs.

Again, there can be a number of causes for this, such as a root problem, drought, frost damage or strong winds. Affected leaves may be shed. If the browning takes the form of spots or blotches, then it is possible that the plant has become infected with one of the leaf blight fungi.

💡 Nutrient Shortfalls

Nitrogen, iron, and magnesium are like the three musketeers of plant health; without them, your Camellia's leaves can turn as yellow as a canary. Nitrogen deficiency often presents with older leaves yellowing first.

Use coffee grounds as mulch for acid-loving plants — roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreens, hydrangeas and camellias. They like coffee grounds for the natural acidity and nutrients they add to the soil. Sprinkle coffee grounds around areas of ant infestation to deter them.

Feeding Your Camellia

As they prefer to be grown in an acid soil, camellias have a high magnesium requirement and once a year Epsom salt (a tablespoon to a gallon of water) can be given along with topdressing the soil with cottonseed meal (about a ½ inch sprinkled on the top of the soil).

If so it is perfectly possible or even desirable to prune them back to a hatstand with no foliage at all. Such drastic pruning would kill many plants but camellias can be successfully rejuvenated by drastic pruning of this sort.

As you noted, camellias prefer acidic soil. Along with azaleas and rhododendrons, camellias can't deal with soap build-up. Adding vinegar won't balance out the pH. Instead of grey water, look for other water sources, such as the shower bucket.

What does an overwatered camellia look like? ›

Spotting the Signs: When Your Camellia Leaves Start to Droop

Yellowing leaves or those with brown or white patches aren't making a fashion statement; they're likely victims of overwatering, poor drainage, or a nutrient deficiency.

To prevent sunscald on leaves, do not remove damaged foliage. While it may seem best to remove leaves that have taken on sun injury, instead allow those dead leaves to block out sunlight while you figure out a good solution. If you can move a plant out of the sun, do so immediately.

While well-established camellias can take some direct sunlight, younger shrubs require partial shade to thrive. It's a good idea to plant them beneath a canopy of taller trees or near a structure that will provide shade from beaming afternoon sunlight. If they receive too much sun, their leaves will scorch and burn.

Camellia flowers range in size from 1 – 13 cm (0.4 – 5 inches) and they bloom in autumn, winter and spring. Camellia bushes can live up to 100 to 200 years, although the oldest living camellia, planted in 1347, can be found in China's Panlong Monastry.

However, there are some camellias that do fine in sunny conditions, even here in the hot South. Mostly sasanqua camellia (Camellia sasanqua, Zones 7–9) varieties and crosses can tolerate sun; they can grow in most landscape situations except for wet or high pH soil. As long as they have good drainage, they will thrive.

If there has been excessive rain or irrigation and the soil is too wet or waterlogged and not draining plants roots don't like sitting in water as this causes root rot disorders due to poor drainage. It could also be sudden changes in temperature from hot to cold then hot again.

There isn't too much you can do at this point, and the camellia may rebound and replace lost growth by spring or early summer. An application of fertilizer for acid-loving plants will give the plant a boost. If the plant displays dead or damaged growth, remove the damage in late winter or early spring.

Use coffee grounds as mulch for acid-loving plants — roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreens, hydrangeas and camellias. They like coffee grounds for the natural acidity and nutrients they add to the soil. Sprinkle coffee grounds around areas of ant infestation to deter them.