Sick camellia

[autumn leaf]

I have a beautiful camellia which is covered in pink flowers and buds but the leaves are covered in a black sooty deposit.  Can anyone tell me what this is/what causes it and how I can treat it please?  ???

[autumn leaf]

[Mrs Ava]

hmmm, sooty mould I think, and I believe, but could well be very wrong here, that the culprit is scale insects.  Look at the stem and see if you can see any little raised ovals and that will be them.  I don't think there is a control, I think it is a squishing job.....

[wardy]

It's very difficult to get rid of scale.  I got int on all my clematis, camelias, cistus and I even got round them with a toothbrush dipped in Malathion but it didn't work and I had to burn loads of plants.  They breed like mad and get right into the woody stems of the plants.  Yuk.  I don't envy you  :(

[Mrs Ava]

I have always had a similar problem with citrus trees wardy.  Try as I might, I cannot keep an orange, lemon or lime as they always succumbe to scale!

[derbex]

My camellias are the same, yucky (and so's the big holly hedge at the back). I'll have to go round with soap and at least clean the soot off.