6 camellias with bicoloured flowers

The Japanese camellia ‘Donckelarii’: stunning marbled flowers

Let’s start this selection of bicoloured camellias with the Camellia japonica ‘Donckelarii’. This old variety with winter flowering unfolds between February and April. It produces an abundance of large semi-double flowers measuring 10 cm in diameter, all different. The petals are a marbled red with white. A subtle heart of yellow stamens enhances the flowers. Unlike many other camellias, the foliage here is rather light green, yet still beautifully glossy.

With modest dimensions (1.3 metres in height and 1.2 metres in spread) and a delicately rounded habit, this red and white camellia can be grown both in pots and in the ground. Its flowers will be complemented by plants with white flowering. You can obviously pair it with other camellias such as Camellia ‘Dahlonega’ or Camellia japonica ‘Nobilissima’, which will elegantly accompany its winter flowering.

Camellia japonica ‘Donckelarii’

Autumn Camellia 'Gay Border': a fragrant bicolour variety

The Camellia sasanqua ‘Gay Border’ has many advantages. It offers a long and abundant flowering period, features a bright bicolour, and exudes an intoxicating fragrance. From October to December, it reveals small single flowers in brambles, with a very natural charm. They display a delicate white edged with vivid pink, illuminated by a nest of golden stamens. This fragrant camellia also offers a powerful spicy scent. A variety that undoubtedly warms the senses during the early cold season!

Its vigorous and compact silhouette of 1.5 metres in height and 1 metre in width will be perfect for pot cultivation. In a large container, pair it with a Bunge’s clerodendrum or a crape myrtle, such as Lagerstroemia ‘Mardi Gras’ or Lagerstroemia indica ‘Petite Canaille mauve’. Its supple and twisted branches also integrate very well into a Japanese-inspired garden. We recommend placing this bush near pathways to fully enjoy its fragrances.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Gay Border’

The Japanese camellia ‘Bonomiana’: flowers like splashes

The Camellia japonica ‘Bonomiana’ first charms us with the shape of its flowers, resembling large variegated roses. Very double, they are perfectly formed, composed of a multitude of rounded petals, and reach 7.5 cm in diameter. In terms of colour, they display a white-pink striated and splashed with carmine pink. A true work of art! Flowering occurs between February and April.

The compact and bushy silhouette of this heather soil shrub reaches 1.25 metres in height and 90 cm in spread.

Give this pink and white camellia variety a prominent place that will showcase it well. In a woodland setting, accompany it with spring bulbs in similar tones, such as daffodils (‘Petrel’, ‘Misty Glen’, ‘Rosy Cloud’), crocuses (‘Mammouth Jeanne d’Arc’, Crocus tommasinianus ‘Roseus’), delicate snowdrops, and hyacinths (‘Multiflore Rose’, ‘China Pink’, ‘Pink Pearl’). This will create an elegant, harmonious, and bright scene. Complete with the beautiful decorative foliage of evergreen ferns.

Camellia japonica ‘Bonomiana’

The classic camellia ‘Betty's Beauty’: an elegant pink and white flowering

The camellia ‘Betty’s Beauty’ is a bicolour variety that flowers from February to April. The bush displays large semi-double flowers measuring 10 cm in diameter, shaped like peonies. The petals are a delicate white with pink edges. At the centre of the flowers, there is a subtle little nest of yellow stamens.

This camellia reaches a height of 1.2 metres and a width of 1 metre. It thrives equally well in pots or in the ground. In a bed with other heather soil shrubs, pair it with early-flowering azaleas and rhododendrons, such as the Japanese azalea ‘Kirin’, rhododendron ‘Fragrantissimum’, or ‘Linearifolium’. Hydrangeas will take over the flowering in summer (Hydrangea serrata ‘Cap Sizun’, ‘Cotton Candy’, or ‘Grayswood’). Complete the display with sasanqua camellias: this will create a stunning bed in shades of pink and white, which will be in bloom for almost the entire year.

Camellia ‘Betty’s Beauty’

The autumn camellia ‘Variegata’: bicoloured flowers and foliage

The Camellia sasanqua ‘Variegata’ is truly unique with its bicoloured flowering and variegated foliage. This autumn camellia blooms from October to December, sometimes even until January-February in mild climates. This variety, with its very natural charm, is adorned with small single flowers measuring 4 to 5 cm, which have the advantage of being slightly fragrant. They are white, with petals irregularly edged in bright pink. The centre forms a sparkling nest of yellow stamens.

The foliage is equally impressive, as it features a unique variegation, displaying a grey-green marginated with cream white.

Its small size (1 metre in height and 90 cm in spread) allows it to fit seamlessly into any garden. In a natural-style shrub border, pair it with a Witch Hazel, a Strawberry Tree, and a Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Variegata’

The wild camellia ‘Cupido’: a bicolour variety that stands out for its originality

The field camellia ‘Cupido’ has several features: firstly, it flowers late in winter, from March to May. Its small bicoloured flowers measuring 3 cm are predominantly white, simply accented by random touches of pink-red along the edges of the outer petals.

In terms of foliage, the leaves are red at the bud burst period, before turning a dark green.

The silhouette of this camellia is pyramidal, compact, and well-erect, making it ideal for small spaces or pot cultivation. With slow growth, it reaches approximately 1.5 metres in height and 80 cm in spread over 10 years. To pair it in a large pot, consider heathers with winter flowering or the lovely carpet of violet flowers from Viola odorata. Its qualities were even recognised in the Netherlands in 2012 with a Bronze medal at the Plantarium.

For further reading

Discover also 7 classic white camellias