Camellias »Recognize and treat diseases

Diseases of Camellia japonica

There is only one disease that makes camellia really dangerous. Other abnormalities are not illnesses, but symptoms that indicate the wrong one Location or indicate bad care:

• Camellia plague
• Fall of buds and leaves
• Leaf and bud rot
• Weak budding

What to do about camellia plague

The camellia plague has only recently appeared in Europe. You can recognize the disease by the fact that the blossoms rot from the inside and fall off after a few days. Always cut off rotting buds immediately and dispose of them with household waste.

Rot or falling leaves and flowers

A camellia leaf grows on the plant for about three years and then falls off. That is normal. Something is wrong only when buds and leaves fall off or rot in heap. These are almost always maintenance errors. The cause could be a location that is too dark or too warm, too much or too little moisture or too calcareous soil.

Affected parts of the plant are cut out. Place the Camellia japonica in a bright enough place, but avoid excessive exposure to the sun. Check the plant substrate to see whether it contains enough nutrients. Sometimes it is enough to keep the plant fresh Potting soilto repot.

From late summer on, water only moderately and avoid waterlogging during the rest of the time. Administer liquid Flower fertilizer(€ 71.80 at Amazon *) without lime according to instructions.

Pests that can appear on camellias

• Vine weevil
• Scale insects
• Thrips

The vine weevil larvae can cause lasting damage to the camellia. When the beetle appears, you should search the earth well and remove all larvae.

Scale insects can be rinsed off with a powerful jet of water. Soap broth or lace flies and ladybirds as natural enemies help against thrips.

Tips & Tricks

Nematodes, small roundworms, are also suitable for biological control of weevils and thrips. They eat the pest larvae from within and destroy them in this way. You can get nematodes in specialist shops.