7 autumn camellias with white flowers

Camellia sasanqua ‘Early Pearly’: true immaculate white pearls

The autumn camellia ‘Early Pearly’ is a stunning variety with pearly white flowers, resembling true little jewels. Quite early, this camellia blooms abundantly from October to December, revealing its round, fully double flowers with numerous petals, measuring about 4 to 5 cm in diameter.

This small bush has a compact silhouette, reaching 1.2 metres in height and 1 metre in spread. It allows for the creation of beautiful autumn pots, for example, when paired with white winter heathers (Erica x darleyensis ‘Silberschmelze’) or pinks (Erica x darleyensis ‘Kramer’s Rote’ or ‘Winter Belles Tylou’), which will create a particularly delicate atmosphere.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Early Pearly’

Camellia sasanqua ‘Frosted Star’: an adorable starry flowering

The white camellia ‘Frosted Star’ stands out thanks to the unusual shape of its flowers. These resemble double stars reminiscent of star magnolias. The petals are indeed arranged in several rows of narrow spatulate shapes around the centre. They display a delicate waxy white shaded with soft pink, highlighted by a centre of yellow stamens. Another advantage: they reveal a subtle and heady floral fragrance. Flowering occurs at the end of the year, in November-December. A true star heralding winter!

This recent variety offers an upright yet compact silhouette, not exceeding 1 metre in all directions after a few years.

It will thrive in small spaces, such as in a pot with autumn-flowering bulbs at its feet, which will precede its late flowering: colchicums, pink Naples cyclamens or even nerines.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Frosted Star’

Camellia sasanqua ‘Narumi Gaita’: large flowers reminiscent of Japanese anemones

‘Narumi Gaita’ is an autumn flowering camellia that blooms in October-November. Its single flowers are quite charming: they resemble those of Japanese anemones, with a broad shape (8 cm in diameter) and emit a sweet floral fragrance.

In terms of colour, they display a lovely white accented by a fresh pink edge along the petal borders. The whole is illuminated by a nest of golden stamens that are clearly visible, giving these flowers a natural and wild appearance.

With a fairly vigorous growth habit, the bush has an upright silhouette, reaching 1.2 metres in height and 80 cm in spread within a few years.

In regions with mild winters (hardiness around -10°C), it will be a perfect candidate for Japanese-inspired gardens. It can be cultivated in a setting that includes Japanese azaleas, a camellia such as Camellia japonica ‘de Higo Fuji’, which will take over the flowering from January to March, or even Japanese andromedas.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Narumi Gaita’

Camellia sasanqua ‘Fuji no Yuki’: delicate white pom-poms

‘Fuji no Yuki’ flowers later, between November and December. Its bright pink-edged buds open to reveal charming double flowers with numerous immaculate white petals, reaching 7 to 9 cm in diameter. Their centre is simply highlighted by a discreet nest of golden yellow stamens. The overall effect is perfectly complemented by dark green, glossy foliage.

The upright habit of this autumn camellia, which has a relatively slow growth rate, reaches 1.5 metres in height and 80 cm in spread.

Incorporate it into your garden to create a beautiful flowering hedge with other heather soil shrubs: rhododendrons and azaleas or Clethra alnifolia. The witch hazel will take over the flowering while adding more height.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Fuji no Yuki’

Camellia sasanqua 'Survivor': the hardiest of the bunch

Camellia sasanqua ‘Survivor’ derives its name from “survivor” due to its higher cold resistance compared to its peers. Unlike other autumn camellias, it can indeed withstand temperatures dropping down to -15 or even -20°C, making it a good candidate for most of our gardens.

Its white flowering reveals delicate pinkish hues at the petal edges, illuminated by a heart of stamens, giving a true natural charm to our camellia. The flowers are also slightly fragrant.

Larger than the other autumn camellias mentioned, it can reach up to 3 metres in height and 2 metres in spread. Very elegant, its silhouette is compact and upright.

Pair it in the garden with wild charm perennials to dress its base: opt for liriopes, asters, or even ferns like Asplenium, with their decorative fronds.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Survivor’

Camellia sasanqua 'Setsugekka': a long and abundant white flowering

The white camellia ‘Setsugekka’ has many advantages. It offers a long and abundant flowering period in autumn-winter, lasting from October to January. Its semi-double flowers are very large for the species, as they reach 10 cm in diameter. They produce delicate, crumpled petals with a mossy appearance, in immaculate white, only highlighted by a sunny heart of stamens.

The flowers of ‘Setsugekka’ are highly fragrant, exuding a powerful floral and heady scent.

The vigorous silhouette of this autumn camellia is upright, supple, and slightly trailing, giving it a charmingly weeping appearance during flowering. The thin, dark, glossy foliage adds an extra touch of elegance to this beautiful specimen.

In a scented garden, it will be essential, accompanied by other fragrant autumn camellias, such as ‘Gay Border’ with its spicy notes or ‘Versicolor’ with its jasmine tea fragrance, enhanced by notes of plum. In spring, daphnes can then take over this fragrant display. Then, in summer, gardenias and clethra will reveal their fragrant blooms.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Waterfall White’: an uncommon groundcover variety

 ‘Waterfall White’ is an autumn camellia with white flowers tinged with cream. In October and November, it is adorned with a cascade of lovely small double flowers that are slightly fragrant, modestly revealing a heart of stamens.

Its silhouette makes it an original variety: this camellia, with a low and spreading habit, reaches only 1 metre in height and 1.7 metres in spread.

It is a perfect groundcover, but it can also be grown above a low wall, where it will delicately dress the surface, or in the foreground of a flowering shrub border. If you have enough space, consider integrating it at the base of witch hazels or an strawberry tree.

For further reading

• Discover also 7 classic white camellias