What is wrong with my camellia?

Inthegarden1990

Hi everyone new to here and looking for some assistance.

My camellia has started to have brown leaves and falling off very easily I have attached some pictures of it any assistance on what is causing this and how to treat would be greatly appreciated. 

Borderline

When leaves turn bronze-like they are stressed. This could be under watering or water logging and even cold weather reaction. Are your plants grown in pots or in the ground? Containers can easily dry out if your pot is small and the evergreen leaves cast a shadow over the pot. 

Collect rain water to keep your shrub watered. Watch out for blockages underneath your pot too. Try to raise the pot off the ground in the winter months using pot feet or large pebbles.

Inthegarden1990

Borderline said:

When leaves turn bronze-like they are stressed. This could be under watering or water logging and even cold weather reaction. Are your plants grown in pots or in the ground? Containers can easily dry out if your pot is small and the evergreen leaves cast a shadow over the pot. 

Collect rain water to keep your shrub watered. Watch out for blockages underneath your pot too. Try to raise the pot off the ground in the winter months using pot feet or large pebbles.

Thanks for the reply,

It's not in a pot it's quite a large plant which is planted at the front of my house, unless the ground isn't draining enough, stay in the Glasgow area but it hasn't been as cold recently.

It's just started flowering but last year the it didn't flower atall due to cold spells I would believe.

Inthegarden1990

this is it just now the dark leafs are at the other side 

Borderline

Thanks for more information. Sounds like it could be the same things, even if in the ground. You mention no flowering last year. That could be a sign. Lack of water through the year especially over the summer months can cause the shrub to shut down. And any bud forming may drop off prematurely. Excess cold winds or water-logged soils are also other factors. Hard to know, but you need to check your soil to see how it is draining. 

My mum grows a lot of Camellias in her garden, and some go bronze in the winter months whilst others don't. They are all grown in same soils in similar conditions, so I can only say some are more robust whilst others are more susceptible to cold or dry/wet weather. None have died so once you know what could be causing it, maybe find ways to rectify it.

Camellias need neutral to acidic soils. They prefer moist soils to free draining soils. But excessive poorly drained soils will not help the plant, so check all of these things first.

Fairygirl

Hi @Inthegarden1990 The soil is unlikely to be a problem - most of the west of Scotland has soil suitable for them 
As @Borderline says, dry weather through late summer is a problem for bud formation, though not usually an issue here. However, the last couple of summers saw longer, drier spells than normal, which probably caused the issue there last year. Not a huge problem though. Keep it well watered in July/August if we get similar this year.
It's a mature specimen, so I wouldn't worry too much. Keep the base/bed tidy, and a mulch of rotted manure, bark, or good compost , after a wet spell will also help to prevent moisture loss during dry weather. Wind is also very drying, so just keep an eye out for the soil being overly dry later on.
Exposed sites will mean a bit of foliage damage, but that's also normal for any evergreen, in any situation. 
I don't think there's too much to worry about though. You can remove the damaged foliage, and enjoy the flowers as they open 

Inthegarden1990

Thanks alot for the help guys,

Will get some mulch ontop it's quite a windy spot sometimes so hopefully that will help it.

robairdmacraignil

Good suggestion to give the shrub a bit of mulch alright once the soil isn't dry. There is also a chance the shrub is just taking nutrients out of some of its leaves so they can be used elsewhere in the plant. It is quite common for plants to do this and it can happen when there is nothing wrong with the plant. The picture of the full shrub looks like it is fairly healthy to me.