Camellia
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called Common Camellia, Japanese Camellia, Japanese rose, Peony Camellia and rose camellia.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full shade, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drained or Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H5 — -15 to -10°C -15 to -10 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Brown brittle margins with a green centre
Tips first on a camellia, then margins. Affected tissue is papery and slightly curled, and the damage stops rather than advancing once conditions change.
Penn State Extension notes that most indoor plants benefit from more humidity than a home heated in winter provides. The leaf edge, furthest from the veins, is where the shortfall shows. That applies while it is grown indoors; its RHS rating of H5 describes a plant that also grows outside, where the air is seldom that dry.
Telling it apart: When it started. Edges that browned as the heating came on point at air; edges that browned through a wet summer do not.
Penn State ExtensionCamellia brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Flowering stops while the foliage carries on
The camellia looks well in every other respect: green, firm and growing. What is missing is the flowering.
Buds are formed only when the plant has energy to spare. Its source places it in full shade, partial shade, and in less light than that the surplus that pays for flowers is missing.
Telling it apart: The spacing of the newest leaves. Stretched growth means the light is short; normal spacing points at timing or feeding.
RHSDiagnose no flowers or dropped buds on this Camellia- Lower leaves collapse and yellow within days of a watering
Whole leaves yellow at once rather than browning at a margin, and the camellia looks deflated despite soil that has not dried since it was watered.
The source for this plant describes moist but well-drained or well-drained soil. Compost that stays saturated loses the air spaces fine roots grow into, and those roots die back first.
Telling it apart: Weigh the pot in your hand. A pot still heavy a week after watering is holding more water than the roots are using.
RHSCamellia leaves turning yellow: causes- The plant leans hard toward the window
A camellia reaches. Stems extend between leaves, and the newest growth is the palest thing on the plant while older leaves hold their colour.
Its source places it in full shade, partial shade. In less light than that the plant cannot fund full-sized leaves, so it makes smaller ones and spends the difference on stem.
Telling it apart: Turn the pot and wait a fortnight. New growth that swings back toward the window is answering a light question.
RHSCamellia leggy, leaning growth: causes- Torn or browned leaves on one side after windy weather
The camellia looks battered rather than sick. Leaves are nicked and browned at the edges, and the damage is heaviest on the most exposed side.
Its source describes a sheltered spot. In an exposed one, wind both dries the leaves and damages them physically, which is why the marks follow the direction of the weather.
Telling it apart: Which side. Wind marks the side facing it; dry soil marks the whole plant.
RHSCamellia brown leaf tips and edges: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Camellia.
Routine care
- Watering
- Plants are slow to establish, so dig a big hole three to four times as wide as the root ball, but no deeper, so nearby trees and shrubs compete less for nutrients and water. Some flower bud drop can be natural, but overwatering or underwatering can also cause it.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Camellia can be propagated by layering or stem cuttings.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from semi-hardwood cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Prune only to take out damaged or dead wood, unproductive branches and overly long shoots. Next year's flowers form on old growth, so prune right after flowering, or else in early summer.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by cottony camellia scale, other camellia pests, peony scale, bifasciculate scale, walnut scale, Indian wax scale and camellia scale.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Can be troubled by vine weevil, scale insects and aphids. Diseases: camellia leaf blight, camellia petal blight on flowers, Camellia gall, Camellia yellow mottle virus, Phytophthora root rot and, rarely, honey fungus.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Camellia japonica, known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of flowering plant from the genus Camellia in the tea family Theaceae. It is native to China and Japan, and grows naturally in forests at altitudes of around 300–1,100 metres (980–3,600 ft).
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- China (Shandong, E. Zhejiang), Korea (Jejudo), C. & S. Japan to TaiwanWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026China , Korea, Central & Southern JapNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026China, Japan, KoreaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- shrub or treeWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Perennial, Shrub; habit columnar, dense, erect, pyramidalNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 120–156 in; width 60–120 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 8-12 metres; spread 4-8 metres after 10–20 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, pink, red/burgundy, variegated, white; blooms in spring, winterNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers pink in spring; white in springRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Camellia
Plants with similar care
African violetBrown tips on the newest leaves first
Bigleaf hydrangeaA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Bird of paradiseCrisp margins that appear in winter
Busy LizzieBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Calla lilyEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
Cape leadwortCrisp margins that appear in winter
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.