Camellia bud drop occurs when the plant is either getting too much or too little water or the temperatures are changing up/down a lot. Other times when the temps change and stay cold, they can just stop blooming and restart a month or more later. Flower buds in general are more sensitive to temperature and moisture issues than leaves so you could see a plant stop blooming and still leafing out new leaf growth. Try watering when the potting mix starts frying out as opposed to just daily. You can also place the pots where the air/wind does not dry them out quickly. As for the temperatures, you can try to monitor the temperatures to see how much they fluctuate and find a location where they do not swing too much.

It could be that nothing is wrong. Some camellia varieties flower as late as this time of the year, plus or minus one month! Sudden weather changes can also delay bloomage. For example, my Kramer's Supreme normally bloom in December but I did not get bloom this year until mid-March. Without knowing the variety that you have, I cannot tell you when your plant is supposed to bloom under normal circumstances. However, if the flower buds are still there and look healthy (not brown), I would just wait. That is what I had to do. Luis

Thanks for the references, ForrestAL. There are many in ground beautiful Camellia plants here, but mine is in a large container. Currently, it looks like "Charlie Brown's Xmas tree in the Peanuts comic strip". I have beautiful green foliage on one branch. This is Mrs. Charles Cobb, that has two bare branch stems. Also thirteen leaves and thirteen flower buds, some of which look plain sick, but with other new growth starting on these bare branches. She definitely is not the best looking lady on the block...:) This is a new gardening area for me, so I may be best trying something else. Again, thanks for the info.

Maybe those aren't the buds but are new branches/ foliage? If they're thinner and are pencil point shaped, they are new branches/ leaves. The buds on my Kramers Supreme are about the size of the tip of my thumb. They are nickel sized circumference and don't usually open till late january/ early february. Same deal on a Ave Maria, buds that look like little cabbages, but need some time to cook before they pop.