Camellia japonica Painter's Palette - Japanese Camellia

Camellia japonica 'Painter's Palette' is a variety of ornamental Japanese Camellia with a beautiful late winter flowering and distinctly original variegated foliage. This slow-growing bush with an upright habit is decorative throughout the seasons. Its young spring shoots emerge in shades of orange, while the mature foliage displays a cream-white variegation contrasting with dark green. From February, large red flowers enhanced by a golden heart bloom on the plant. Thriving in Atlantic climates with moist acidic soils, it can also be easily grown in a container in colder climates or where the soil has limestone.

Camellia is the most represented genus in terms of species in the small Theaceae family. This family includes about ten genera, some ornamental, such as Franklinia and Gordonia, parents of the hybrid x Gordlinia, and a species of Camellia with high cultural and economic value, Camellia sinensis. Tea is made with the young leaves of this bush. Among ornamental Camellias, several species are widespread, the main one being C. japonica, native to Japan and Korea, and cultivated in China for over 4700 years. In Europe, where the first plant was introduced in 1739 by Baron Robert James Petre, it enjoyed its heyday as a winter garden plant during the first half of the 19th century. Today, breeders continue to focus on this genus and introduce innovative varieties to the market.
This is the case with 'Painter's Palette®' derived from a seedling of the variety 'San Dimas', with bright red flowers. This variegated foliage mutation was obtained by the Breton nursery Stervinou, established in Brest in the 1940s and specialising in acid soil plants. This bush has an upright habit, with slender branches and brown bark that start almost vertically before flaring upwards. Growing quite slowly, this Camellia will reach approximately 1.40 m in height and 80 cm in width after 10 years of cultivation. Its main originality lies in its variegated foliage, unusual for Japanese Camellias. In spring, new shoots emerge in shades of orange, possibly mixed with pink, before the leaves take on their final colouration. This will be dark green in the centre, with lighter green gradients, all surrounded by an irregular margin of varying size depending on the leaves, ranging from cream white to yellow. The evergreen foliage is ornamental throughout the seasons, adding an extra decorative touch to the bush. The flowering is as splendid as in the original variety. From February, large bright red flowers measuring 7 to 8 cm in diameter bloom on the variegated vegetation, fully justifying the name "Painter's Palette" of this plant. The semi-double corollas consist of about ten rounded petals open horizontally, revealing a golden heart made of white stamens topped with bright yellow anthers (due to the pollen they contain). The colour contrast is absolutely stunning at a time when the garden has not yet emerged from winter, and the flowering lasts until March-April depending on the climate and year.

Camellia 'Painter's Palette®' elegantly renews the genus with its original and attractive foliage. If your soil is limestone or your climate too cold in winter, you can easily grow it in a container, in ericaceous planting compost, sheltering it in a cool and bright room during periods of severe cold. Where it finds the conditions it appreciates, you can plant it as a hedge or in a border with acid soil plants with which it shares the same needs. To create a winter-interest scene, plant Hamamelis, or Witch Hazels, also of great ornamental value, at the back of the border. In winter, they produce spider-like flowers composed of thin yellow, orange, or purple filaments depending on the variety. And in autumn, their foliage takes on remarkable fiery colours. Garrya elliptica 'James Roof' will also be a good choice, with its persistent grey-green foliage harmonising with that of your Camellia, and its spectacular winter flowering in long whitish catkins. To accompany the start of spring, you can also plant a Stachyurus praecox, a little-known but highly decorative shrub with clusters of small yellow flowers and stunning autumnal colourations. These different plants do not tolerate limestone but do not require very acidic soil either, thriving in neutral to slightly acidic soils.