Master Horticulturist Shares 5 Reasons Your Camellia Leaves Have Brown Spots
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
Camellia can often be easy plants to grow, but, as always, there are a number of things that can go wrong.
Brown spots on camellia leaves can be an early indication of one or a number of problems.
These brown patches on your camellia might often be caused by:
- Frost damage, especially on tender varieties susceptible to cold temperatures.
- Sun scorch, which is a problem more likely to affect plants in the fierce summer sun.
- Overwatering or waterlogged soil, where roots are sat for long periods in a damp growing medium.
- Root rot, which is the next step for plants left too long in waterlogged soil.
- Camellia Leaf Blight – a fungal issue that is more likely in prolonged wet periods.
Read on for a more detailed breakdown of each of these issues –
1) Frost Damage
Brown spots on the leaves of a camellia plant can often be caused by frost damage.
In winter, when the temperatures are low, cold winds can cause water to evaporate from leaves more quickly than it can be replenished from the roots.
This can cause the leaf tips and upper leaves on your plant to turn brown in places.
Remember, some camellias are hardier than others, so when choosing and positioning a camellia, it is always important to look at whether the particular type and cultivar you are considering can cope with the winter conditions where you live.
Fortunately, frost damage will usually be a temporary problem.
You can simply remove the affected foliage and the plant will usually recover just fine in spring, putting out new growth.
2) Sun Scorch
Leaves can also turn brown in places during the summer when the weather is particularly hot and the sun is fierce.
Remember, most camellias are best grown in partial or dappled shade, where they are protected from solar rays.
Sun scorch can usually be avoided by carefully positioning a camellia so that it is protected from the sun in summer.
Again, as above, a problem with brown spots or leaves caused by seasonal variation is not life-threatening.
Simply remove the affected foliage and the plant should have no problem recovering.
3) Overwatering
Brown patches on leaves that seem damp and watery are often a sign that the camellia has been overwatered or that excess water could not drain away.
If you think that you have overwatered your camellia, reduce watering right away and water only when the top few centimetres of the soil or growing medium is dry.
Take steps to improve drainage and hopefully it won’t be too late to allow the plant to recover.
4) Root Rot
If there has been prolonged waterlogging, this can, unfortunately, lead to root rot and a fungal infection could take hold.
When root rot occurs, the roots will not be able to do their job of transmitting water and nutrients to the foliage, so leaves may begin to turn brown.
5) Leaf Blight
Another fungal issue that can sometimes occur in camellias and cause brown spots on the leaves is leaf blight.
This problem can often take hold after prolonged wet periods and, if left unchecked, brown leaves can progress to full branch dieback.
“Camellia leaf blight is far more likely to affect newly propagated and young plants,” explains Colin Skelly, a Master Horticulturist.
“Mature camellias tend to be very robust, healthy plants with leaf browning due to hot or wet conditions.”
If you suspect a fungal infection like this, remove affected foliage as soon as possible to prevent its spread.
Remember to practice good garden hygiene to avoid spreading the fungal infection to other parts of the same plant or other plants in your garden.
