Camellias are woodland plants that prefer shade, mulch, somewhat acidic soils and temperate climates (cool-to cold, but not extremely cold winters). Generally speaking, they are not indoor plants, and will usually do best if grown outdoors. In areas with very cold winters, camellias can be grown in unheated greenhouses, on porches that provide protection from cold winds, or in a well-lit, unheated room.

The dirt should not be allowed to dry out, but shouldn't need to be watered daily or even every other day. If the dirt is drying out that quickly, it's probably because of indoor air circulation... the warm, dry air that humans like in the winter is not the cool, moist air that a camellia wants.

If the grow light puts out heat, that is another thing camellias don't want, and it will do its part to dry out the soil too quickly. 12 hours of bright light daily isn't necessary, and may be counter-productive.

It would help to know what part of the world your camellia lives, but if you have a space where you can grow it outside without it getting frozen on a regular basis, that would be ideal.

A stressed camellia should not be fertilized... that will push the camellia to try harder to do something it's already having trouble doing. If the plant really needs a larger pot, that may help, but it sounds like the plant is getting over-watered and is probably in a too-warm, too-dry environment.

Good luck,

Virginia

I'm in the northeast United States, so it'll definitely die if I leave it outside. Thanks for the advice.

I would guess over or underwatering -- or uneven watering. Pot looks too small and likely the bottom portion remained too wet. I'd consider putting it in a deeper pot but really trying to maintain even watering.

Also, the air may be too dry in your house and temperature too warm for the winter.

I have C. japonica seedlings growing under lights (12-14 hours on) though and they look just fine. I water very carefully though. Not too much; not too little. No fertilizer until they are established and actively growing. You can burn the fragile root hairs.

Hopefully yours will recover when you put it OUTSIDE for the summer. I think increased light, night-day temp fluctuations and increased humidity from outdoors will start it up.

Over water. The plant would drop moist leaf one by one. Possibly the root is already bad. Or. You keep the plant indoor too long.