Hello, starfruit_1. As long as you meet certain plant requirements, camellias should not have the problems that you describe. What you need to do next is identify which plant requirements are not being met and check my section on pests. See which ones apply to your case in Hong Kong. I apologize if this answer is too long but I was trying to cover all the possible causes. While you did not state so, I assumed you planted the camellia outside and that the variety is good for planting in your zone in Hong Kong. Planting: camellias like to be planted near the top of the soil. Make sure that yours is planted slightly above ground level. Also make sure that the location you chose has no drainage issues. Lighting requirements: camellias like dappled sun or morning sun with afternoon shade. Here in Texas, I choose locations that are shaded starting at 11am because of the strong summer sun. Too much sun causes some leaves to turn a dull green, a mustard-like green or bronze color. But many times the problem is temporary. For example, plants recently moved from a nursery (where they get lots of shade) to ones backyard (where they get more sun than at nursery) can suffer from sunburn or bronzing of the leaves temporarily.... until the plant adjusts on its own. Another example... during the winter, this also occurs when a tree that normally shades the plant looses its leaves and exposes the plant to more sun than before. As soon as the tree leafs out in the spring, this problem corrects itself. What to do? From your comments, your description sounded as if you got this plant recently so the problem may be temporary. Do determine if your current location provides morning only sun or dappled sun. If you decide it is getting too much sun, consider moving it to a shadier location. Soil requirements: camellias like acidic soil, soil whose Ph level is below 7. A reading of 7 is considered neutral while a reading higher than 7 is considered alkaline. Nurseries here in the US sell a kit to give an approximate reading of soil Ph. See if you can get a similar kit locally in Hong Kong. If your plant is starting to be affected by alkaline soil, the glossy green color may start changing as you describe, but eventually it will leave the leaf veins green against a yellowish/green leaf backdrop. If the veins and the rest of the leaf stay the same color, you probably do not have a problem with alkaline soil. The leaf color change is caused by the plantÂs inability to absorb iron from the soil, a condition thus called Iron Chlorosis. Camellias which suffer from iron chlorosis have leaves whose color changes from the common camellia glossy green, to a dull green, a bronze/yellow green and mostly yellow green. The veins remain green through most of this change. This also happens in other acid-loving plants like gardenias and hydrangeas. To correct iron chlorosis, add an iron & soil acidifier into the soil once or twice a year. I use a product called Green Light Iron And Soil Acidifier. Should you have this problem, see what is available there in Hong Kong. Water requirements: camellias like the soil to be regularly moist to a depth of 18 inches (46 cm). The soil should never be dry, soggy or wet for extended periods of time. If they do not get enough water, the topmost leaves can brown out first. If they get too much water, the bottom leaves will brown out first. You will notice that the tip of the leaves browns out first until the whole leaf is browsed out. This condition is called Tip Die Back. If a whole branch browns out and dies, you may have Branch Die Back. Plants with this problem usually receive too much water and/or fertilizer. Dead or dying branches should be pruned and discarded; water less or correct any drainage problems; feed only three times a year. If the plants get too much water, root rot -a fungal disease- can also cause leaves to brown out and can also make the whole plant to eventually die. The solution to most of these watering issues? If you have water drainage issue in your garden that accumulates water where the camellia is, take some corrective action or transplant the camellia elsewhere. Also, check the soil moisture more often or use an automatic sprinkler system. To manually check, insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) and see if it feels wet, moist or dry. Then take appropriate action. Maintain lots of acidic mulch (2-4 inches or 5-10 cm) and keep the soil moist as much as possible. During the winter time, if the soil does not freeze, it is important to also provide water to camellias. Again, test the amount off moisture in the soil with a finger and decide if it needs more or less. Fertilizer: To keep camellias well fed, the American Camellia Society recommends three feeding per year. I apply a cup of cottonseed meal (organic food) around the base of the plant in March, June and September. Some mineral deficiencies will result in yellowing of leaves. I already mentioned elevated alkaline Ph Levels. A soil analysis is the only way to detect other mineral deficiencies. This would be one of the last things I would consider. Pests: camellia pests tend to be visible on the underside of leaves. If you notice evidence of pests (look under the leaves, in the flower buds, in the flowers themselves and in the stems), take samples in sealed plastic bags to your local plant nurseries in Hong Kong for analysis and then apply the recommended controls. Examples of some common pests in the U.S. are camellia scale, camellia bud mite and spider ants. The camellia bud mite will make the bud scales brown out and it will infect the buds and the flowers. Check to see if you see any pests on all parts of the plant (open the buds and flowers).... Spraying with a miticide will correct a bud mite infestation. Weather: sudden changes in weather, very cold, very wet or very dry conditions can cause camellia buds to brown out too. This is a very common problem during the plant's first year in one's garden and very likely what happened to you. It happens because the plant is only used to the optimal conditions found in the nurseries. When you suddendly plant them outside in your backyard, the plant is not yet used to your normal weather and responds by -unfortunately- dropping the buds. But this should only happen on the first year or in very cold years. For example, I lost all buds this year due to a malfunction in my automatic sprinkler system that caused very dry conditions. Some varieties that I have planted dropped their buds on their first year and others did not. If you do not have any pest problems then do not worry much about this and let the plant develop a good set of roots in its first year instead. Well, that is all have. See what applies to your case and take appropriate action. Camellia growing should be fairly easy and just require morning sun, moist soil, food three times a year and hardly any pruning. I hope this helps you, starfruit_1, Luis

I think the literal translation of Camellia in deer language is :"Reese's Peanut Butter Cup"! I have experienced a LOT of browsing on sasanquas and japonicas. Actually, this year overall has been a bit light. I have a pink sasanqua that was a birthday present to my grandmother years ago. When she died, it was the first plant I removed from her garden, before her house was sold. The entire time it was in her garden the deer kept it to a stump. It finally has had an opportunity to grow some and look like a camellia again. Her property was a hotbed of deer browsing the whole time she lived there. Bottom line around here is, if you have deer and you have camellias, you may end up only with deer.

The Camillia I bought last fall is still hanging in there, but hasn't done well for me so far. I covered it over with a milk crate and leaves last winter, worried that it wouldn't tolerate the cold it's first season, after I planted it in the fall and not the spring. I don't think it appreciated having that milk crate of leaves sitting on it all winter, because it dropped all it's buds before they opened, then lost leaves over the summer. But it has been in the ground for a year and it still has some healthy leaves and I think I see a couple of flower buds starting to develop. This year, it's on it's own over the winter. I am still interested enough in growing them, to give it a different location if it is still struggling next spring. And I may order a different variety of Camillia and plant it in another location and try it again. I hope it makes it through the winter and starts putting on some growth next year. I think the biggest challenge in my garden is dryness and not the winter cold.

Oh, no. Poor thing. Suggestions.... I do not think that camellias can acclimate directly into summer-level sunlight levels very well. I would have started acclimating it in the Fall or Spring for example. And I would expect Year 1 leaves not to do well as they are used to superb/perfect greenhouse conditions with limited sun exposure, lots of humidity, etc Also, down here, they can sunburn during part of the summer morning hours too so, try giving them morning shade starting around 10-11am or thereabouts. Finally, japonica leaves tend to suffer so much more that I would consider sasanquas if you observe this reaction to the high desert climate. Out of curiosity, how much do you water and how many times a day do you have to water in your low humidity conditions? Due to low desert humidity, you may need to water potted shrubs several times a day. In the summer, I have been known to do that here with potted camellias and hydrangeas, especially those located in house corners that can become slightly windy with drying winds this time of the year.