camellia help

[Ruud]

Hi

Could someone please tell me why my camellia doesnt have the deep green leaves it should have , some have a strange red colour.
Please take a look at the pictures.

thanks all

[sarraceniac]

Do the leaves seem thicker than normal Ruud? What does the back of the leaves look like?

[sarraceniac]

What does the back (underside) of the leaf look like? Does the leaf seem thicker than normal?

[Ruud]

well i would have to go out and have a feel and report back.

[Jeanied]

For some reason the chlorophyll in the leaf has gone - that's why it is going red. Could be damage or disease - how much of the plant is affected?

[Ruud]

well there are new shoots forming on the branches

here is a pic of the plant overall

[rana]

Is it possible that something is leaching from the soil (shingle) and poisoning it?

[sarraceniac]

In that Ruud doesn't seem to know if there is any leaf thickening, which would indicate a viral disease or white undersides to the leaves, which would probably show a fungal attack, I just put it down to frost scorch. That is also indicated by the picture which seems to show that it is not against a wall so was not protected against a very bad winter.

[rustylady]

Camellias are essentially woodland plants and they hate lime. This one looks rather unhappy - how long has it been in it's present position?

[Ruud]

its 10 years old

i just had a feel of the leaf and it doesnt seem to be any thicker then the rest. I think if you look closer you can see what seems to be a white spider.

i have taken a picture of the underside of the leaf.
Do you think it would benefit from a Ericaceous Fertilizer.

[Jeanied]

Ruud I have just been searching around the internet on this and by all accounts the camellia is quite robust and recovers from insect attack. The best suggestion is to give it a good feed every spring and make sure it doesn't suffer from drought. I have found no suggested way of getting rid of pests on camellias.

[Ruud]

Could someone please suggest a good fungicide to spray my camellia with.