Mark, so glad you've had 5 good ones. I feel like this year is better than last year (my first spring) but I've had thrips which pretty much messed up the first flush and some of the second. Now with the heat the flowers are sooooo tiny - like half dollar size or less. I just feel like flowers are coming in dribs and drabs. But I do believe the garden is healthier this year due to my mulching and watering practices. When the thrips hit, I thought to myself, "I guess this is what it's like (on a small scale) to be a farmer. Plagues and locusts and floods and freezes." If it's not one thing, it's another. Hold on to the good ones cuz it will never ALL be perfect. Sherry

It is absolutely beautiful. This last year was my first year with it, so I cannot tell you about winter hardiness yet. I also cannot tell about black spot that well, but in the summer it lost its leaves, and did not do well until later. I think it was black spot, but it could have been the heat. I absolutely do not spray. Others who have a spray free garden suggest that it takes about 3 years to find out for sure that a rose will not work well in your garden, so I am keeping this one. Later I will try to find a picture and post it. To me it is worth keeping because of the beautiful early blooms and late ones. Sammy

This is supposed to be a late flowering mophead so I would regularly expect blooms to be late (as in June or early July). Flower buds develop always after bloom in July-August. Transplanting it -for example, in the Winter Months or Spring- could have killed the invisible flower buds. However, a more likely problem is the winter hardiness. It can bloom unprotected in Zones 6 and higher but in Zone 5, you need to winter protect. Make sure you also do not prune it. Best time to prune is after it has bloomed but before July-August. Keep your fertilizer regimen light as too much can produce a nice shrub with green leaves only.

Camellias like to be in well draining, mulched (3-4"), acidic soil that is evenly moist -not wet, not dry- and where they get afternoon shade, a stable supply of water and fertilizers like cottonseed meal or composted manure. If you live in a hot climate like me, some protection from drying winds in the summer may be needed. If you live in an area with cold weather, some protection from the reeeeeeal early morning sun on freezing days may be helpdul too. Aside from that, one has to deal with the weather. Wild temperature fluctuations can make camellias abort flower buds if it gets warm for a while and then harsh winds & cold temps quickly tumble down below freezing. This can make the camellia abort the flower buds (they turn brown and fall down). Mid-flowering Japonica varieties like Debutante, etc are the ones that typically usually suffer from that. Early flowering japonicas may skip the REALLY cold weather but may get hit with frost late in the Fall. Late flowering japonicas can get hit by late frosts. Periods of dry soil, wet soil, dry soil again, etc can also trigger bud drop so make sure you water it as the soil is just starting to go dry.. Large amounts of fertilizers can also create issues so make sure that you use about 1/2 to 1 cup of cottonseed meal or composted manure for a plant of that size. My area in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex suffers from that weather issue so I try to maintain the soil acidic & evenly moist in winter, especially right before a drop in temps. Some people, when they see "bad" weather coming into town from forecasts well into the future can apply gibberellic (sp?) acid (1-2 drops per flower bud) and this makes the plant open buds early and sometimes larger than usual. I have not tried that myself. If your weather will have frost, you can also cover the plant with frost cloth such that the cloth is not touching the plant. You may want to buy the cloth much larger than the plant is to account for future growth as most people who have used suggest holding it with rocks to prevent air from coming inside from the bottom. Then remove it the next morning. Lastly, there is camellia bud mite that can get into flower buds and cause them to open late or drop. Below is a link to some reading material on camellia bud mite and these other issues that I mentioned: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_pests/shrubs/hgic2053.html Transplanting sometimes corrects this issue when you provide a location where its needs are met. I noticed your leaves may be getting too much sun. The color looks bronze-like and areas look like they had sun scorch. I usually do not get hit by bud drop much (knock on wood) and at worst, the japonicas simply stop blooming and restart when it is warmer.