It's getting too much sun. The leaves on the back side are being shaded by the front. If it has a nutrient deficiency fertilizing with a product that supplies the deficient nutrient(s) in the right amount might make it greener, but there will still be less greenness than if it had the correct exposure. Cutting it down to the size of a younger plant will just waste all those years of growth, increase the amount of sun that is hitting it. Mulching might also help, by cooling the root zone and evening out the moisture content of the soil (making it less prone to heating up and drying out during hot spells).

Camellia japonica is a woodland understory species, adapted to an overhead canopy of taller trees. Until it has more shade it will always have a problem with fading and bleaching.

I beg to differ with Ron B. in his opinion about the forty-two-year-old camellia in North Carolina. I've never gardened in Washington State, and, thus, will offer no absolutes pertaining to West Coast gardening. However, in my own experience and through my own observations of camellias in the Southeast, it is not at all uncommon to see fine specimens thriving in full sun. I agree that full sun is not the norm. But a camellia that has lived forty-two years with sun exposure would surely have succumbed years ago if it were not tolerant of the sun. 'Debutante' is a well-known camellia that thrives in full sun, and there are, of course, other cultivars that thrive in full sun. 'Covina,' which is popular in California, comes to mind.

I think it would be a good idea to cut the camellia down after it finishes blooming, and let it resprout from the stump. It may come back vigorously without any fertizer whatsoever. If there are too many sprouts, thin them out so that one shoot becomes the leader.

As far as age is concerned, there are camellias at Middleton Place Gardens in Charleston that are well over two hundred years old. Age is not the problem.

I would not cut it down! Like Ron said, you would lose all the benefit of 42 years and it would still be in the sun.
However, it should be fine in your area in the light it is getting. I would prune no more than 1/4 of its height at the maximum and see how things go for the next year or so.
Make sure you have good mulch and that there aren't other factors troubling the shrub, like cultivating underneath it, parking the car on the roots, etc, although I would think those type of things would not effect the entire plant.

Hello,
So what did you do with the old tall camellia ?
thanks.

I tend to agree with bumblebeez. Something cultural has changed. About that hole - is the tissue healing? What has changed around the plant: any use of herbicides? other pest controls? Look for scale infestations; they (as well as other pests) will often occure primarily on the sun/warm side of the host plant. Check for borers, and do some soil pH tests.

Hi,

I don't know much about camilia care. However, I am in SC and I have one camilia (sasanqua) that is very old, over 100 yrs. It had a neighbor that was a double pink and much bigger. It got some kind of scale thing. The leaves turned light and thick and well, just nasty looking. I tried to prune the damaged parts however the tree was just too big, and spraying had no effect for me. It spread a little to the neighbor tree of which I was able to remove all infected branches.
End of story, the larger one died, cut at stump and never regrew anything, the other is still alive and healthy.

I agree that I see alot of very healthy camilias in full sun here.

Maybe you could prune a little and see if regrowth is healthy. If that is successful, prune a little more.

I find pruning unhealthy growth generally beneficial to camellias.
You might consider asking your county extension agent for regional advice.
Camellias will thrive in the deep south in sun, this one has, for forty years.

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