Camellia is a beautiful shrub that brings life and colour to your garden. It is native to East Asia and usually grows between 80 cm and 2 m in height.
It has bright green evergreen leaves and provides spectacular large flowers in various colors ranging from white to red, through shades of pink, yellow, salmon, purple, They can even be bicoloured many times.
However, these plants are susceptible to a variety of diseases and pests. To keep them healthy and vibrant, we must know the root causes of these problems, as well as treat and prevent them.
This article tells you how to avoid some mistakes that can make the plant suffer, as well as learn about pests and diseases that pose a threat and how to prevent them.
Mealybugs
They are the most common insects that can attack them. They feed on the plant by piercing the tissue and sucking its sap. Because they are so small, it is very difficult to detect them, they look like small scales that stick to the plant, therefore, They can reach very damaging levels before we can detect them.
Symptoms may include yellowing of the upper surface of leaves, fewer and smaller flowers, leaf fall and dieback of branches, often the death of the plant.
Ants also appear when there are mealybugs because the sap that the plant removes is used by the ants as food.
Therefore, controlling mealybugs will make the ants They will also go away. You can use a spray or a pesticide, if you can use an ecological product, it is ideal to eliminate pests.
Anthracnose
It is a common fungal disease in camellias. It is characterized by dark or black spots on the leaves and flowers, which can cause them to fall out prematurely.
This sickness It occurs when camellias are exposed to excessively humid conditions, such as heavy rain or dew, over a prolonged period of time.
To prevent anthracnose, make sure your camellias have good ventilation and are kept dry. If you notice signs of anthracnose, prune away the affected parts of the plant and apply a fungicide.
Bacterial leaf blight
It is another common disease that affects camellias. It is characterized by small round dark brown or black spots on the leaves., which can cause them to fall out prematurely.
It is caused by a bacteria called Xanthomonas, and is usually spread by water droplets or insects. To prevent bacterial leaf blight, avoid overhead watering and only water the soil around the base of the plant.
If you notice signs of the disease, apply a copper-based fungicide to the leaves and prune the affected parts of the plant.
Powdery mildew
It is a fungal disease that affects many different plants, including camellias. It is characterized by white, powdery growth on leaves and flowers, and can cause affected parts of the plant to become deformed or stunted.
El powdery mildew It can appear during warm, humid weather, and is often spread by wind or insects.
To prevent this disease, you should make sure that your camellias are grown in a well-ventilated area. and do not overwater. If you see signs of pests, apply a fungicide to the affected parts of the plant.
Camellia petal blight
It is caused by a fungal pathogen known as Pectobacterium carotovorum. It uses air currents to spread and the spores land precisely on the flowers of the camellias, They turn brown and disintegrate in a single day, the flower falls to the ground in pieces.
It can be difficult to treat the disease once it has taken hold. To prevent camellia flower blight, Avoid overwatering and make sure the plant receives plenty of sunlight.
If you notice signs of the disease, consider removing and destroying infected flowers to limit the spread of the pathogen.
Currently, chemical control has been almost useless for this disease since they are under study or are very expensive. Cleaning the flowers can help a little, but it does not stop the spread that occurs through the wind.
Trips
They are tiny pests that can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, but they prefer to attack indoor plants and become a big problem for camellias in winter.
The damage can be observed in the form of silver, brown or black lesions on the edges of the leaves. which are caused by the laying of eggs and excretions of thrips.
To control this pest you should spray the plant with soapy water to scare them away. Remember that this pest does not tolerate outdoor conditions, so when you bring the camellia back into the garden when the weather improves, the infestation will resolve itself.
Sunburn
If the camellia is planted in full sun, it can suffer from sunburn in which the leaves will turn yellow on the side that is exposed to the sun.
The fungi that cause the spots can infect all leaves. This problem occurs in camellias that are transplanted from shaded locations to sunny locations.
To prevent this problem you can plant them in a shady place because when the leaves turn brown they will not recover. Some dark colored flowers can withstand more exposure, but they receive enough water and are covered with mulch during the warmer months.
Black weevil
They attack camellias in two waysFirst, the adult beetles attack the leaves by feeding on them, and then the larvae settle in the shallow soil of the containers, damaging the roots.
If you see this pest feeding on the leaves, Surely the soil in the pot is also infected with larvae. To avoid this problem, if your plant is strong and healthy it can compensate for this problem on its own. However, if yellow leaves and drooping shoots appear, you should try to carry out a treatment.
Treatment in the dark or in low light conditions is ideal as the weevil avoids light.
As we have seen, for your plant to be healthy and you can avoid its health problems, It is very important that you pay attention to the signs to realize what disease is affecting you.
As soon as you notice any signs of disease or pests, you must act quickly to prevent them from spreading to the rest of your plants.
With your loving care and attention, your camellias will thank you by remaining healthy and beautiful, filling your garden with life.