Problem with Camelia - Bronze Foliage

Hi There,

I'm not sure if this question is best posted in this forum, or the Trees & Shrubs forum, so I have posted in both. Can anyone help me witha problem I'm having with my Camelia? After it bloomed this winter, the leaves started to turn a bronze color. We've been feeding/treating it the same as we always have, so now we don't know what to try. It is trying to put out some new green leaves, but so many of the old ones are discolored it has me worried. I've attached a photo of the old bronze foliage and the new green shoots that are starting to grow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My Camelia leaves always bronze over like that in the spring, kru. I got real concerned at first, but since they do it every year and always come back better than ever, I've stopped worrying. My Camelias are planted under two large Pecan trees which almost totally shade them in the summer, but gives them almost full sun in the winter. Since Pecans are one of the last trees to leaf out in the spring, they get exposed to a lot of direct sunlight in March/April, and I think the old leaves simply get sunburned. Since they were going to fall off anyway to make way for the new growth, who cares what color they are when they finally drop? My Camelias are almost 20 years old, 12' tall x 8'-10' wide, and right now, covered with bronze leaves. But in a month, they'll be covered with bright green new growth---and protected fron sunburn by those Pecan trees. Don't think you have anything to worry about.

That makes sense. Mine is actually shaded by a flowering cherry tree that has not quite finished leafing out. Maybe it just got a bit too much sun over the past couple of months. I suppose as long as it 's putting out new growth it's doing OK. Thanks for the info!

As long as your Camellias are putting out new growth, kru, consider them "Happy"!