My Camellia Sasanqua Has Yellowing Leaves With Brown Edges

Yellowing Foliage

• Multiple factors cause the normally deep green leaves of a sasanqua to develop yellow coloration. Overly dry soil, lack of nutrients and any array of sucking insects drain moisture from leaves, causing leaves to become sickly and display more yellowy tones. In addition, various flecks or irregular yellow blotches on a sasanqua leaf indicate some virus or disease. None of these factors typically causes the leaf edges to uniformly become brown or advance creating a condition of a yellow leaf with brown edges. The leaf usually drops off the plant if too unhealthy.

Brown Edges

• Two scenarios typically cause edges of sasanqua leaves to turn brown. This may by followed by or accompanied by yellowing of the remaining green areas of the leaves. A build-up of salts in the soil causes all camellia leaves to display brown edges. These salts come from excessive fertilizers, either granular or water-soluble, in time. Fertilizer salts often build up more quickly and cause more acute leaf edge browning on camellias grown in containers. Excessive cold in the winter also causes leaves edges to brown.

Prevention

• Rather than erratically fertilizing sasanquas, or overfertilizing plants encouraging more growth, use a constant, balanced fertilization regimen. Place a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch over the soil around the sasanqua. As the mulch decomposes, it releases nutrients for roots to absorb. Then, supplement the soil with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer product, such as 10-10-10, around the plant's root zone with a dose recommended on the product label. Scattering the granules three times a year is good: late winter, late spring and late summer. Sasanquas grow slowly, so nutrients must be constant. If a deficiency occurs, correcting the imbalance takes months, as nutrients must first be absorbed by the roots and move upward through the branches before finally reaching the cells in the leaves.

Importance of Moisture

• While many factors cause leaf yellowing, overly dry conditions cause these yellow leaves to develop brown edges. Arid air or dry soil can cause leaf edge browning. Sasanquas need a moist but well-draining soil, neither too dry nor soggy wet. Supplement natural precipitation with irrigation keeping the soil evenly moist any time of year the soil is not frozen. Avoid planting sasanquas in hot and dry locations, such as against a building or wall if adequate moisture can't be provided. Avoid an exposed location where drying winds bombard the plant.