Japanese Camellia Camellia Japonica Emperor of Russia Variegated

The variegation here is in the flower, not the leaf. Emperor of Russia is an old japonica with a deep red anemone form bloom, a ring of broad outer petals around a cushion of petaloids, and this selection carries irregular white flecking through those petals so no two flowers are alike. The mottling is virus induced, which sounds alarming and is not: it is stable and propagated deliberately. The habit is upright and bushy, and it earns its place as a shaded feature seen at close range.

Conditions that protect the flecked petals

Part shade, acidic humus rich soil that drains, permanent mulch kept off the trunk and moderate water year round. That much is standard japonica culture, and it suits cool and warm temperate gardens and the cooler subtropics, where mild winters simply bring the flowering season forward. The specific requirement for this one is shelter. Flecked petals show every mark, and hot afternoon sun, dry wind and driving rain all brown the pale areas first, so a flower that would have lasted a fortnight under a tree canopy or an eave is ruined in a day in an exposed bed. A courtyard corner, a south facing wall or high overhead canopy all work.

Exposure is the failure mode. A japonica planted where the full afternoon sun reaches it in an inland garden bleaches to a yellow green, sets fewer buds and scorches the ones it does set. Move a potted plant rather than trying to nurse it through, and if it is in the ground, plan shade over it rather than adding more water and more fertiliser, which is the usual and unsuccessful response.

Flecked red or solid red

Set against C.M. Hovey, the difference is flower structure as much as marking. Hovey is a formal double, every petal in an even geometric spiral, solid crimson, repeated right across the bush. This one is anemone form and deliberately irregular, and some blooms will open with very little flecking at all, which is normal on a variegated camellia rather than a fault. Gardeners who want a matched, uniform look along a hedge or a run of pots should take Hovey or Roger Hall. Anyone who enjoys the variation, and wants a different flower every time they look, should take the Emperor. Both groups sit in the camellia collection.

Bud set, feeding and the summer watering can

Prune lightly and only after flowering finishes, taking out crossing wood and shortening shoots that break the shape. Hard renovation is possible on an old plant but costs the following season entirely, so stage it over two or three years instead. Feed with a camellia and azalea food after pruning, then keep water up right through summer and into autumn while the buds fill, because a dry spell in February shows up as bud drop in July rather than at the time. Mulch heavily, and water deeply and infrequently rather than lightly and often. Potted plants dry out faster than beds, so check them by hand through summer rather than by the calendar.

Choosing a size

This plant is supplied in one size, 200mm, at $31.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to camellia hedges and winter flowers.