Camellia japonica ‘Twilight’ is represented by three plants in the Mt. Edgcumbe collection, 1M-053, 1N-080 & 1P-056. The 1P plant is in an open situation, the other two in shade below London Planes. All three flower well every year and produce some of the most beautiful formal double blooms of any variety in the collection.

The flowers are almost but not quite pure white, having just the lightest blush of pink. Petals are very numerous, thin textured and tipped with two or three points. Even when fully open stamens and stigma are absent. As with any pale and perfect flower, it takes only a little damage to be very disfiguring but it seems to resist damage better than quite a lot of the whites.

The leaves are medium sized, glossy dark green and the bush is dense and upright. Like so many other excellent camellias it was raised by Nuccio’s, Altadena, Pasadena, USA. and like many others of their prodigious output, was a chance seedling.

I think I would grow this in light shade if possible, for the extra protection it affords while seemingly not reducing flower production significantly. It does well in the open in the UK though, flowering more freely but more at risk from the elements. Its main flowering period is March and April.