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Camellia leaf drop

joe.mcaleerjoe.mcaleer Posts: 2
in Plants
Hi - hope some GW camellia owners can help! Our mature camellia has had more than a normal amount of leaf drop this year. About a third of the shrub has leaves with rough brown spots on the underside, while others are yellow and drop. Is this a viral problem? The tree has had a few aphids this year and lots of ants scarpering about, but I don't think they'd have as big an impact as this.

Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    edited June 2020
    Has this slowly started to happen? How was the flowering? Just trying to establish the general health of your shrub. Sometimes, the leaves can have small specks around the back with pale leaves due to stress, normally due to waterlogging. Is the soil compacted or heavy?
  • joe.mcaleerjoe.mcaleer Posts: 2
    Started very gradually, around six weeks ago. The flowers this year had a few brown spots here and there but nothing major. I would say the soil is fairly compact but not waterlogged. Also, back in the spring we had the area put under gravel and a weed control membrane, so not sure if that is having a negative impact?
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    That might. Camellias rarely get fungal type infections on their leaves. Since you have had this shrub for quite some time it’s very likely something more recent may be causing it stress. Normally stress with compacted water logged or inconsistent watering may have contributed.

    I don’t know much about weed membrane. But if water cannot get into the soil properly, that can also cause issues. 
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