Camellias are ornamental shrubs that bring color to the garden during the late fall, winter, and early spring seasons when few other plants are in bloom. These flowering evergreens, native to East Asia, have been cultivated for centuries, resulting in a broad spectrum of bloom colors. The camellia color palette is defined by the absence of certain hues, which is a matter of botanical genetics. Flower colors are largely determined by the specific anthocyanin pigments the plant can produce in its petals.
The Primary Color Range: Reds, Pinks, and Whites
The foundation of the camellia color spectrum rests firmly on three dominant hues: red, pink, and white. These colors encompass a vast array of shades, offering gardeners hundreds of cultivars within each category. The variety in red camellias is particularly striking, extending from the deepest, almost black crimson to bright, fiery scarlet tones. Varieties such as ‘Black Magic’ display a velvety, intense dark red.
Pink camellias cover the full range of saturation, creating a soft gradient from the palest blush to the richest magenta. Cultivars like ‘Lady Hume’s Blush’ are known for their delicate, faint pink coloring that verges on white, providing a subtle elegance. Other pink varieties can appear in a vivid fuchsia, like a brilliant splash of color in the winter landscape. The concentration of the cyanidin pigment determines the depth of color in both the red and pink flowers.
White camellias are equally diverse, although the differences are more subtle, relating to undertones and petal substance. Pure white varieties offer a sharp, luminous contrast against the dark, glossy evergreen foliage. Other white blooms may possess slight creamy or ivory undertones. The presence of white is simply the absence of these anthocyanin pigments in the petals.
Variegation and Patterned Blooms
Beyond the solid colors, camellias are famous for their patterned blooms, known as variegation. This patterning involves two or more colors, typically white splashed across a red or pink background. Variegation can be caused by two separate biological mechanisms: genetic mutation or viral infection.
Genetic variegation results from stable changes in the plant’s DNA, often appearing as distinct striping, defined bars, or picotee edging on the petals. For instance, varieties like ‘Lady Vansittart’ exhibit a pattern of soft pink petals streaked with bright red and edged in white. The picotee pattern is where the petal margin is a contrasting color, such as the pink flowers of ‘Elegans Splendor’ bordered by a frilly white edge.
Other, more irregular variegation, characterized by blotches and random flecks of white, is often caused by a plant virus. This viral infection interferes with the production of color pigments in specific areas of the flower tissue, resulting in the irregular white markings. While this viral variegation can occasionally stunt a plant’s growth, it is often welcomed by enthusiasts as it creates uniquely patterned and highly prized blooms.
The Search for Blue and Rare Yellows
Two colors remain notably absent or extremely rare in the natural camellia palette: blue and a deep, true yellow. Camellias, along with many other popular ornamental plants, lack the necessary gene to produce the enzyme flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase (F3’5’H). This enzyme is required to synthesize the blue-producing pigment called delphinidin. Therefore, true blue or purple camellias do not exist, as the plant cannot biosynthesize the required compound.
The search for a true yellow camellia has been a long-standing quest, but authentic yellow varieties are scarce. Most yellow cultivars originate from a few specific species native to Southern China and Vietnam, such as Camellia chrysantha (also known as C. nitidissima). These species offer a color described as golden or true yellow, but they are often difficult to grow in cultivation.
Many yellow-named hybrids available in the trade are not a deep gold but rather a pale cream or buttercup yellow, sometimes with the yellow color concentrated in the petaloids at the center of the bloom. A cultivar like ‘Brushfield’s Yellow’ exemplifies this, featuring creamy white outer petals that surround a dense, buttery yellow cluster of inner petals. The development of true yellow camellias relies on complex hybridization efforts using these rare wild species to transfer the yellow pigment trait into hardier garden varieties.