The Gall of Those Camellias!

By Linda Wilson and Paula Coley, Norfolk Master Gardeners

With assistance from Intern Gary Baker

When otherwise well-behaved Sasanqua camellia leaves mutate from their normal slender, shiny green appearance into thick grotesque white, pink or pale green variations of themselves, growers beware! Gall has most likely set in and you had better have your pruners at the ready.

A recent visitor to the Help Line presented a bag of these specimens asking for identification and a remedy. The Help Line team went to work. The diagnosis was quick and the treatment fairly straightforward. The galls need to be removed from the plant as soon as they are observed, and preferably before the spores of the fungus that causes them (Exobasidium camelliae) ruptures on the undersides of the leaves and becomes widespread in the environment. Fallen debris from the plant and existing mulch should be cleaned up and discarded. Although some university websites recommend the use of fungicides to help control the disease, the vast majority opt for careful surveillance of the plants, removal of galls as soon as they present themselves, selective pruning to ensure adequate ventilation within the plants, good drainage and overall careful cultural practices to limit the appearance

of the disease.

Gall seldom seriously damages camellia and azalea plants, which also fall victim to this disfiguring fungal disease. Galls tend to appear in the spring with the first thrust of spring growth, so the alert gardener has to add gall surveillance to late March and April tasks. One thorough sweep of gall cutting does not cover the territory, either. Weekly inspection of infected plants often reveals the continued emergence of gall-infected plant parts.

After gall treatment, camellias and azaleas will be more vigorous and less prone to other fungal-born diseases. Some authorities maintain that galls can be added to compost piles that are kept at hot temperatures. After looking at the gall specimens, your Norfolk Master Gardener Help Line team voted for disposal in the trash.

You be the judge.