Camellia disease

I seem to remember reading information about some disease present in the 'April' series several years ago that was harmful to other shrubs. What information pertaining to this do you have?

Thanks!

Anne's Response:

I don’t know of any disease that was present in the April Series of camellias. They were developed in Chapel Hill and have good cold resistance and make excellent landscape plants. Many camellias are susceptible to photoptera root rot just as azaleas and rhododendrons are and any of those plants could transfer the disease to a garden if it is present in the soil around the plant when you purchase it. Two or three years ago there were articles on camellias being shipped from California that had been infected with “Sudden Oak Death Syndrome”.