Discoloration of the leaves is not uncommon in the high-care camellia. The leaves can turn yellow, brown or even black. A distinction must be made as to whether the sheet itself is black or has a black coating.
Roses and camellias are often attacked by a fungus
Why are my camellia leaves turning black?
The leaves of the camellia actually turn black rather seldom, much more often an unsightly black coating forms on them, but this can be wiped off. This is due to the sooty mold, also known as star soot or simply soot fungus. This fungus feeds on the sugary honeydew that various species of lice secrete. Scale insects, aphids and mealybugs are particularly suitable.
At the beginning, small black spots can be seen when infested with sooty mold, which spread out in a star shape over time. The damage is actually only indirect, because the fungus only prevents photosynthesis by clogging the leaf pores. However, without treatment, your camellia may still shed its leaves because photosynthesis is vital for plants.
Can the camellia be saved?
If only a few leaves of your camellia are affected, you can pluck them off and dispose of them in the household waste. As a precaution, isolate the affected camellia from other plants so that neither lice nor the sooty mold fungus can spread to them. If the infestation is severe, you should carefully clean the leaves of your camellia.
You can use a dish soap solution, curd soap suds, or a mixture of vinegar and water to clean the leaves. Be sure to remove any lice at the same time. However, chemical agents or neem oil only kill the live lice. Therefore, the treatment must be repeated after some time.
The essentials in brief:
- Pluck off or clean affected leaves
- possible agents: washing-up liquid, curd soap, vinegar-water mixture
- collect visible lice
- possibly use neem oil or chemical agents against the lice
- Repeat treatment after a few days
- Replace the soil if the infestation is very severe
tips
If your camellia is very badly infested with lice, replace the soil to be on the safe side, larvae could have nested there.