Camellia williamsii Night Rider

Camellia ‘Night Rider’ is a remarkable williamsii hybrid camellia, notable for its small, jewel-like, semi-double flowers in a black-washed red. It flowers from late winter through to spring. With a compact habit and moderate growth, it is particularly well-suited to small gardens and container cultivation. Its evergreen foliage, initially purplish, then turning a very dark green, provides structure to the space all year round. This bush is best planted in an acidic, humus-bearing, well-drained soil, sheltered from cold winds.

Belonging to the Theaceae family, ‘Night Rider’ is classified within the williamsii hybrid group, resulting from cross-breeding between Camellia saluenensis and C. japonica. This cultivar's parents are ‘Ruby Bells’ (a saluenensis line) and C. japonica ‘Kuro-tsubaki’. It was selected in New Zealand by Oswald (Os) Blumhardt and introduced in the early 1980s. The horticultural synonym Camellia japonica ‘Night Rider’ is sometimes encountered.
The bush has a compact, upright to slightly spreading habit and slow growth. In the ground, it reaches about 1.20m in height with an 80cm spread at 10 years old. Ultimately, it will reach 1.50 to 2m in height and 1.20 to 1.50m in width; in a pot, 1 to 1.20m depending on the container volume. The root system is fibrous and shallow, sensitive to compacted and heavy soils.
The flowers are semi-double, measuring 4 to 5cm in diameter. Their thick, waxy petals are a dark, blackish red; the golden stamens are often shaded with red at the centre of the corolla. This variety flowers from late February to April, depending on exposure and region. The foliage is evergreen in winter: the small, very dark green leaves are elliptical, leathery and glossy; the young shoots are a bronze to purplish colour. The hardiness of this camellia is around −15 to −18 °C in well-drained soil, sheltered from wind.

'Night Rider' works well in a container on a terrace or near an entrance. Use a large 40 to 60-litre pot and a mix of ericaceous soil and compost, water with non-calcareous water and mulch with pine bark. It can also be planted at the edge of woodland, where its small, dark flowers can be admired at eye level. In an ericaceous bed, pair it with small evergreen bushes like Pieris and Skimmias. Ferns or Hostas can be planted at their base.
To vary flowering times and flower forms, combine it, for example, with Camellia × williamsii ‘E.G. Waterhouse’ (spring, double pink flowers), Camellia japonica ‘Mrs. Tingley’ (late winter-early spring, large double crimson-pink flowers) and Camellia × reticulata ‘Paul Sérusier’ (late winter-spring, large single to semi-double, bright pink flowers). In a low hedge, keep planting distances of 1m to 1.20m between each young plant.

New Zealand produced several dark-flowered camellias in the 1970s-1980s; ‘Night Rider’ has become a benchmark for its purplish young leaves. It is a sought-after variety for sheltered gardens in oceanic climates.