Yes, I would say that that they are getting sun bleached. Here in Texas, I selected planting locations where the canopy of Crape Myrtles provides shade by 10-11am due to the intensity of the summer sun. A good way to diagnose this is by observing the leaves veins and by comparing the leaves that the sun hits against the leaves further inside the bush. The leaf veins in your photos are yellowing out. And the leaves further inside the bush look deep green while the ones who bear the brunt of sunlight look completely yellowed out (including the veins' area). This problem can be normal for some folks during winter because the canopy of deciduous trees may not be there to provide shade. It is also normal on newly planted camellias. In both of those two cases, it will pass. However, you do not want this condition to go on for a long time as some leaf-spotting fungi can infect the sun-bleached leaves. Lack of iron is a very common problem but definitely not what you have. Observe the leaves in your photos again. If you had iron chlorosis, the veins in the leaves would be a deep dark green while the rest of the leaf would be yellowed out. While you are at it, check the soil with a soil test. These should be done about every few (2-3) years but I personally do them about every 3-5 years. This would be a way to double check that there is no lack of certain minerals in your soil. Sort of a safety check. Your state's Agriculture Extension Office and local nurseries can assist with this. Luis

at12bian, I agree too. I live near DFW Airport and soil acidifiers are something one has to constantly apply in most areas of the Metroplex; that includes applying them during the winter months. To see which of both issues is a problem or if both are, start with the problem that is easier to detect/fix: the soil Ph Level. Check your soil Ph with those cheap measuring PH tools sold locally in nurseries or the big chains. They are not as accurate as a lab test but they should be "close enough". If it reads 7 or higher, add some type of acidifier that will lower your Ph Level. Re-check in 1-2 weeks (this is n-o-t a fast process) and re-apply as necessary. During this time of the year, I like using a product called 'Green Light Iron and Soil Acidifier' because it contains no nitrogen (its NPK Ratio is basically 0-0-0) and will not trigger a growth spurt in my camellias/gardenias and azaleas. I bought mine several years ago, probably at Lowe's or Calloway's/Redenta's. After the Ph Level goes down to a level around 6 or less, see how lush the leaves look. If they still appear to be yellowed out then you know that sun light is now the issue. To correct that, you could move the plant to a shadier location. That is the faster solution but is more disruptive.... although this is the best time of the year for moving plants around. I have also seen some people place a special mesh above plants to reduce the amount of sunlight that hits the plant; people in Louisiana did that when their azaleas/camellias/gardenias lost their cover. You could use that approach until your oak tree grows and shades the area where the camellia is planted. A man-made structure of some type could also be an alternative to produce the shade needed here. I have some camellias planted under crape myrtles and a maple tree in such a way that they will provide shade starting around 10-11am in the summer; the rest are on a north facing wall where they are almost always shaded but the area has a lot of indirect very bright light. All plants face north and the bad weather in the last 4 years has not been an issue. The cold is not an issue here but freezing rain and hail are. They will affect your plant a bit more more since it has no protection on all four sides. I usually have no advance warning of hail so freezing rain is what I try to protect the plants from instead. My buds were not affected by the bad weather. However, I have noticed that last year, some of my sasanquas bloomed by mid-November and this year.... well, I am still waiiiiiiitiiiiiiiing... Luis

That packing of plants close together is worrisome but, unfortunately, I am not aware of what "vector" helps spread the darn thing from one shrub to another. Yellow mottlevirus, which affects camellias, has no known vector either while Rose Rossette Disease -caused by a virus- has a mite. This ring virus probably has something else so being close to an infected camellia increases the risk of getting it. And since you cannot tell if a camellia is infected (there is no test), you can look at one plant that looks healthy and after a while, it shows symptoms. That is why many people who bought healthy ones that develop the rings then decide to "live with it". In this case, I think they just prune affected parts if they do not like the look. The same happens with the camellia yellow mottlevirus although sometimes the yellow leaf variegation looks pretty to some people. I have seen some pretty and some not so in plants for same at nurseries.

Yes, plants in the base may be chocking/competing if allowed to grow large. I typically try to prevent growth near the base and up to the drip line by covering the area with organic mulch. If it is weeds that are growing there, I would pull them in the winter. If they are plants that I want to keep then I would have to review where the roots are mixing and plan what to do more carefully. As for moving in winter, they will suffer less of transplant shock in the winter but, as you try to transplant a larger and larger plant, the risks of problems also increase. Perhaps it may be best to propagate the plant from cuttings, ground layering, etc., test the soil (add minerals that the soil may be deficient in) and propagate the shrub elsewhere (in the ground elsewhere or growing in containers). There is an El Salvadoran restaurant that I sometimes frequent which has camellia sasanquas growing in pots year-around so, know it can be done. I am just not sure how well the tree may take to being moved. On the link below, click on propagation if you are interested. https://www.americancamellias.com/care-culture-resources Any time that you have a plant with some sentimental value, consider propagating first and transplanting it second.