Camellia has a black coating on the leaves

Where does the black coating come from?

The black coating on the leaves is usually caused by the soot fungus. This is very common when a plant suffers from pests. First and foremost, the scale insect should be mentioned here. They secrete so-called honeydew, which is used as food for the sooty fungus. If you don't intervene, your camellia's leaves will turn brown and fall off.

Can I just wash the base off?

You can simply wash or rinse off the black coating on the leaves. All you need is simple rinse water (a few drops of dish soap in lukewarm water) or a lye with curd soap. However, this is not enough as the sole measure, because you also have to combat the cause of the deposit. It is essential to isolate the infected camellia from other plants to prevent infection.

How can I help my camellia?

Be sure to check your camellia for pests, because these must be fought for the camellia to survive. Wash or rinse off the base. Then spray the plant with an anti-lice agent. Either get a commercially available product from a specialist store or try it first with harmless neem oil.

Be sure to follow the treatment instructions and treat the camellia several times at the suggested intervals. Only the living animals are killed, but not the eggs.

Lice hatch again after ten to 14 days and the cycle starts all over again. If the pests have been successfully fought, the soot usually disappears on its own, since it no longer has any food.

First aid in brief:

• Isolate plant
• Wipe or rinse off the base
• Fight the cause (usually lice infestation)
• Check the plant regularly