camelia

[titmartin]

The plant has a sooty deposit on the leaves.What is it and how do i cure it?

[Thunderbird+]

Hi titmartin,
The sooty deposit you refer to sounds like a fungal disease known as 'sooty mould' it's not particularly harmful to the plant in itself and can be easily wiped off with a damp cloth and some weak soapy water.
The cause of the mould may be more of a problem to eradicate though, It's possible the mould is growing on a substance called honey dew, which is a sugary deposit secreated by either- A, aphids or B, scale insect, the later can sometimes be seen on the under-side of the leaves and look like small limpets, thease can be removed with the thumb nail as they have a tough shell that is difficult to treat with pesticides. The aphids are the larval stage of the green fly, both of these sap-suckers can be treated with a systemic insecticide that you can pick up from any garden centre. With the pests eliminated your camellias should start to look good again! Good Luck Tbird+

[titmartin]

thanks for that thunderbird, will give it a try