Camelia tree yellow/scorched leaves

[butterflycatcher]

Please help me diagnose/ treat my Camelia tree. It is a standard camelia we have had for around 4 years now. In the last couple of years the leaves have yellowed and are brown and crispy in places. The tree is placed in a spot that gets some direct sun as well as shade through the day. It has never flowered in the time we have had it. I've tried increasing watering, reducing watering and giving it a feed but it has made little difference. Do these leaves need to be pruned off? Thank you for any words of wisdom.

Do you know what type of soil you have? Camellia and rhododendron need acidic soil to thrive, you could try feeding it a acid loving plant food or if it's in a pot replace the compost with ericaceous.

Agree with @Pinkywoo . If you drink coffee you can also feed it the dregs/chuck used grounds on top as this acidifies the soil (some coffee shops give away used grounds too)

camelias are fussy about location too: they like afternoon sun not morning. It might be worth relocating the plant to a more suitable spot

Thanks I have sourced some suitable food to replenish the soil. It was ericaceous but I feel it may have lost its acidity

The feed should help, but also, give it plenty of water in august, as that’s when they form their flowers for next year. (A knowledgeable gardener once told me)!

It looks like magnesium deficiency to me, so maybe give it a feed of liquid seaweed. You can water the plant with it, or use as a foliar feed. Use as directed on the bottle.