It may have been mislabled. Or it could be that it is a sport. The rest of the bush may give a true Debutante bloom. However, my Debutantes have finished blooming a good while ago. which leads me to believe that it may have been mislabled. Is the other one blooming or does it have any buds?

If the bushes were in containers, it may be that has messed up the bloom time.

If it's pretty, I wouldn't worry about it.
PB

Look at the foliage of your two plants. The foliage of 'Debutante' is a dull green. The leaves are fairly large and toothed around the edges.

Thanks for everyone's help! There are no other buds that have opened. In fact, that was the only one that has one right now. The plant seems to be only growing new leaves. I don't see any other buds on the plant;however, the bud was there when I bought it.

My Nuccio's Gem has continued to bloom. Perhaps it's almost done blooming, so I'm not sure maybe this is a "sport"? What's a "sport"?

Here is a picture of the bloom, and its leaves.

Thanks again!

{{gwi:507028}}

Occasionally a bush will put out a limb that has blooms that are entirely different from the rest of the plant. This is known as a sport. Quite a few of our favorites came into being as sports of existing plants.

My son has a bush that looks like yours. It is a very prolific bloomer. I don't know the name. But it makes quite a show. I like it much better than his Debutante. but that's just a matter of preference. It still may be just a sport of the Debutante. About all you can do is wait and see.

It's the time of year for new growth. It won't put on any more buds until the new growth is finished. The buds will be developing during the summer.

Check out this site for some basic information about the plants.

Good luck
PB

Here is a link that might be useful: Camellia Information

My Debutante is still blooming heavely. It is solid pink, and even the leaves do not look like your plant. The flower is beautiful on your bush, so enjoy it, even if it isn't what you thought you were getting. So many plants get miss labeled. On the other hand, I have an azalea that is pale orange with a white stripe, and one branch of the bush always puts out pure white blooms. I guess that makes it a "sport"??? Ah, Life in the garden is full of little surprises.

Thanks everyone! I might keep one of them, and return the other. I will probably head up to Nuccio's again, and buy my Debutante there instead. I am truly in love with that camellia! I purchased one of my Nuccio's Gems there a month ago. It was still blooming. I hope they have the Debutante there. :)

You probably do not have a Debutante from the looks of your camellia. I'm not sure what it is, but I feel quite comfortable that it is not a Debutante or a mutation. My guess is that the nursery had it mislabled.

Could it be Betty Sheffield?--the flowers on mine look a lot like that.--here's a link that may help you--I found there are other named Betty Sheffield sports!

Here is a link that might be useful: camellia pictures

Looks like a La Peppermint to me.

i agree that it looks nothing like 'debutante'. even the flower form is wrong. i am not wild about the ones that are striped in that pattern and it is a shame that you did not get what you thought you were buying, especially considering the prices they get for camellias. you will know for sure as it sets more flower buds on other limbs if this is a typical color for the shrub.

Here is a link that might be useful: pic of 'debutante'

WannaBgardener, that azalea definitely sounds like a sport. Do you know what the name of the orange azalea is? Is it one that has performed particularly well for you? Are the white flowers attractive? If so, you might try layering the branch if possible and starting a whole bush that would have white blooms. If you appreciate it, others may too. Or it may be useful in some rhodo breeding program. I know there are tons of azaleas out there, but there are lots of different species and different qualities about different ones... I'm really no expert. Greer Gardens sells A LOT of azaleas, though and I think they have had there own rhodo introductions. Maybe someone there could give you some feedback on the potential value and uniqueness of the sport or how to go about trialing it, etc...particularly if you can identify the type of azalea that it is a sport of, though they could probably help you with that too. Only problem- if you have your own azalea intoduction- you'll have to change your user name for sure.
You never know....