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What's on these leaves?

PFCMCL
9 years ago

Hello, could someone tell me what's happening to this camellia and how to fix it?

Thank you so much in advance!

Here is a link that might be useful: Photo

Comments (15)

  • jean001a
    9 years ago

    Looks like may be sun damage, probably quite a while ago.

  • restoner
    9 years ago

    sooty mold?

  • Vicissitudezz
    9 years ago

    It could be sun scald if the camellia doesn't get much shade. It isn't pretty, but it isn't dangerous to the plant. Camellias can tolerate a fair amount of sun if adequately watered, but the leaves can get burned.

    It doesn't look like sooty mold to me- I just found some of that on one of my camellias. It 'catches it' from the old gardenias planted next to it. SM looks more like a dark gray coating on most of the leaf.

    Virginia

  • PFCMCL
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm afraid it can't be sun damage. This area doesn't get any direct sunlight. I also looked up sooty mold online and the pictures don't look like what I have. Are there any other suggestions? I'm including a picture of the under part of the leaves. Thank you so much for your help.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Photo 2

  • jeff_al
    9 years ago

    looks like symptoms of camellia tea scale to me.
    you can use a horticultural oil spray or perhaps a soil drench with an appropriate insecticide.

  • Jonathan29
    9 years ago

    yeah i was going to say scale as well that's what scale looks like on many many different plants.

    Here is a link that might be useful: TheItalian Garden

  • theoriginaldawgone
    9 years ago

    Main thing I noticed is its a VERY HUNGRY PLANT!!!

    STARVED - that thing has not had fertilizer in years

    Feed it and you will be surprised how a healthy plant can ward off trouble

  • PFCMCL
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you so much to everyone trying to help me.

    Dawgone, these plant was getting too much water and lost all its leaves. I started watering it once a month at the most, very lightly and it finally started to come back. Could I be watering it too little now? I've been feeding it once every three months for the last 8 months. Would it be OK if I feed it every time I water it?

    I looked for more pictures of scale on camellias and I'm still not convinced that's what it is. In those pictures, it looks like you can actually pick and remove the scale. On my plant the spots are embedded on the leaves. No chance of removing them in any way. I came across two web pages with pictures of thrip on camellias or similar plants, these look more similar to mine. What do you guys think?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Thrip on camellia

  • PFCMCL
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    And here's the second link...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Thrip on leaves

  • theoriginaldawgone
    9 years ago

    I cannot say for sure- looks like the black spots COULD(?)-- I say could be resulted from a fungus- I am not a college educated expert on plant pathology. Once camellia leaves are "damaged"-- its over for them (those particular leaves)- can't fix them-- so forget about those leaves and move on. If it is a fungus , you can remedy that by spraying copper , which you should do a couple times a year anyways. I can tell the plant is hungry by the lack and size of the newer growth and the color of the older bark combined with the traces of lichens on the old. Don't feed every time you water

    Good Luck

    This post was edited by dawgone on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 12:32

  • SavannahNana
    9 years ago

    The black spots are fungal. It is not scale. Scale presents itself in an entirely different way. White on underside of leaves and in heavy infestations it appears as yellow mottling on top of the leaf. Branches are weak and spindly which indicate a nutrient problem. Cut it back (in late winter or early spring) to encourage new growth. You can fertilize with Hollytone and use a fungicide to help with black spots.

  • jean001a
    9 years ago

    I haven't visited for a while but while reviewing the images I changed my opinion.
    OP correctly diagnosed the problem -- thrips (PS: Thrips always ends in an "s" even if you only have one but which will never happen.)

    The dark spots are thrips excrement. The silvering is due to the missing surface tissue -- thrips scrape off the upper layer of cells. The result is called "salt and pepper" effect.

    And yes, the shrub is also "hungry." It needs fertilizer.

  • ArcadiaCam
    8 years ago

    To OP, can you tell me if you were able to solve this issue, and how? I've found the exact same black dots on both of my camellias' leaves. They're integrated into the leaves, and there are no visible bugs anywhere. I don't know if it's a fungus or if it's thrips (because thrips is the only thing I've seen that looks like it), and I don't know what to use. ALL of last years' leaves are covered in these dots. I have lush new growth on one of my camellias, and I'd like to prevent these gorgeous new leaves from contracting the same problem.

  • ArcadiaCam
    8 years ago

    Oh no! I'm sorry about that. Thanks for answering. Well, last month I sprayed both my camellias down with Sevin, and so far, all this spring's new growth is healthy and free of black dots. All of last year's leaves still have the dots, but they're mostly hidden by this year's growth now...and I'm hopeful that I stopped whatever it was (assuming thrips since the Sevin seems to have stopped the spots from appearing on new growth).

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